THE REGION is battening down the hatches as Storm Ophelia bears down on the British Isles - with many people already seeing an early effect with the strange colour of the sky.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for the Yorkshire region with gusts of up to 42 mph during Monday and into Tuesday.

And the effect of the storm is already having an impact - today's fog and strange orange tinted skies are the result of dust particles in the atmosphere.

Ophelia's southerly winds have picked up dust from the African desert which as been supplemented by smoke particles from forest fires in Portugal and Spain which are now over the UK.

The national weather service says it will remain very windy overnight across the region and very strong, gusty winds will continue at first tomorrow, easing through the day.

The former hurricane has already made landfall in the Republic of Ireland where more than 10,000 homes are without power.

Remnants of the hurricane will reach Britain's west coast on Monday afternoon, with gusts of up to 80mph forecast - exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 killed 18 people.

Planes have been grounded at Manchester Airport, with 20 flights cancelled and passengers warned to check ahead.

Schools and colleges have been closed in Northern Ireland, which is covered with an amber weather warning - meaning there is a "potential risk to life and property", issued when forecasters believe people need to be prepared to change their plans and protect themselves from the impacts of severe weather.

The storm is expected to move across to Wales, northern England and Scotland throughout Monday.

High winds are expected across the entire region, while a yellow warning is in place for much of Wales, Scotland, north east England, north west England, south west England and the West Midlands.