Europe on alert as Hurricane Gordon approaches

Tropical Storm Update: Spain
MADRID, Sept 20 (AFP) Sep 20, 2006
Twelve Spanish regions were on alert Wednesday as Hurricane Gordon approached northwest Spain where it was expected to hit the coast early evening with 110 kilometre (68 miles) per hour winds, the Civil Protection Directorate General said.
Although Hurricane Gordon was downgraded to an extra-tropical storm Wednesday as it closed in on the Azores archipelago in the mid-Atlantic, the winds could still do damage, authorities in the Portuguese territory warned.
And in Ireland the tail end of the storm threatened to delay Friday's start to the 36th Ryder Cup golf match between Europe and the United States.
The winds were expected to reach gusts of between 90 to 110 kilometres per hour in the northern regions of Spain, weakening to 80 kilometres per hour in the central regions which include the capital, Madrid, a civil protection official said.
"This is an extraordinary phenomenon which can have dangerous repercussions," said a government spokesman for Galicia in northwest Spain which lies directly in the path of the hurricane and where the local government had ordered schools to stay closed on Thursday. {photo above: This 19 September, 2006 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite image shows Hurricane Gordon churning over the Atlantic Ocean. Photo courtesy of NOAA and AFP.}