Storm Dennis to undergo rapid 'cyclogenesis' or 'bombogenesis'

Storm Dennis is "progressing as expected" and is half-way across the Atlantic.

It will undergo rapid 'cyclogenesis' or 'bombogenesis' , where a storm deepens more than 24 millibars in 24 hours.

However Storm Dennis is predicted to deepen by 70 millibars in a 24-hour period, "which is off the charts".

That's according to Ireland Weather Channel's Cathal Nolan, who says Dennis looks set to set a new storm record for the lowest pressure storm formed in the North Atlantic, and even possibly the northern hemisphere - not originally formed by a hurricane.

Nolan, who has been invited to present his latest research on climate and atmospheric alongside some of the top scientists from NASA, Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Zurich and Oxford at the 19th Swiss International Climate School in Grindelwald, Switzerland, says the storm has piqued the interest of NOAA in the US.

Forbes has referred to Dennis as "a new bomb cyclone storm", explaining that as the storm moves south of Iceland, its pressure could drop below 920 millibars, making it "one of the most intense North Atlantic storms on record".

The lowest-pressure ever recorded for a storm in the region came in January 1993 when a measurement of 913 mb was seen near the Scottish Shetland Islands.

Cathal explains that the affects of the storm system are expected to be felt between Saturday and Monday.

"While the impact will be less severe on land, it will still bring gusts of up to 130km/hr in the west and north west on Sunday, and gusts of up to 110km/h in the Midlands.

On Saturday, winds will begin to pick up to 110km/h in the west, and in the Midlands, up to 100km/hr.

Rainfall totals are expected to reach between 40 - 50mms in the Midlands, meaning a greater risk of flooding due to already swollen rivers and saturated grounds.