Hurricane Leslie weakened slightly into a post-tropical cyclone late Saturday as it closed in on Portugal and Spain, bringing heavy rain, high winds and dangerous surf to western parts of the Iberian Peninsula. More than 15,000 were without power in Portugal early Sunday, BBC News reports. The remnants of Hurricane Leslie swept into the center and north of the country overnight on Saturday. The storm, one of the most powerful to ever hit the country, is now heading over northern Spain. Portugal's weather service issued red warnings - its highest level- for high winds or dangerous coastal conditions for 13 of its 18 mainland districts, including Lisbon, the capital. Forecasters said sections of Portugal would see near hurricane-force winds, while parts of western Spain could be hit with tropical- force winds. Maximum sustained winds in the former Category 1 hurricane decreased to 70 mph as the storm neared Portugal's west coast, the U.S National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Tropical force winds were felt up to 160 miles from its center. Luis Belo Costa of Portugal's National Protection Agency recommended that people "avoid at all costs walking on the street." A tropical storm warning was discontinued for the Madeira archipelago. But Leslie was still expected to generate ocean swells that would affect Madeira, the Azores and the Canary Islands throughout the weekend, in addition to the Atlantic coasts of Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Forecasters said the swells were likely to bring "life-threatening surf and rip current conditions." Leslie is a bit of a weather outlier, since hurricanes that regularly batter the American side of the Atlantic rarely bring their destructive force across to Europe.<doc-sep>IRISH tourists in Spain and Portugal are told to "heed local warnings" as Hurricane Leslie blows in - with red alerts in place in some areas. Leslie is due to become a post-tropical storm as it heads towards Andalucia and the Algarve. 3 Several areas of Portugal are on red alert as Hurricane Leslie blows in Credit: IPMA And the Irish Embassy in Lisbon said the city's main airport is likely to be affected as the storm brings strong gusts and 100mm rainfall totals. Portuguese weather chiefs IPMA's latest update states: "According to the European Center model forecast, Hurricane Leslie will begin to be felt in the mainland Portugal from 18:00 UTC in the region of Lisbon, traveling at a speed of about 60 km / h to the northeast, losing intensity and passing to the category of post-tropical storm. "The passage of LESLIE will be marked by strong wind and precipitation, reason why it is absolutely necessary that all the indications of the National Authority of Civil Protection are followed. 3 Leslie is headed towards Portugal and Spain "The European Center is an intergovernmental organization in which Portugal is represented by the Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere." The Lisbon Embassy said dangerous winds, surf and heavy rain are set to batter Portugal on Saturday night and Sunday. The forecast for different areas is available here. They tweeted: "Madeira particularly likely to be affected by high winds and rain. Heed local warnings. Portuguese authorities have increased weather warning to RED in many areas. Link shows conditions expected over coming hours in main towns. Lisbon airport likely to be affected. @dfatravelwise https://t.co/w7ErmOdpTP — Ireland in Portugal (@IrlEmbLisbon) October 13, 2018 3 The hurricane is headed towards Lisbon Credit: Alamy "Portuguese authorities have increased weather warning to RED in many areas. Link shows conditions expected over coming hours in main towns. Lisbon airport likely to be affected." And the Embassy in Madrid told Irish residents and tourists to stay indoors if in affected areas. They tweeted: "Spain travel alert: western parts of the country will be affected by Hurricane Leslie late tonight and early tomorrow. "Stay indoors if you are in an affected area, monitor weather reports and follow the advice of the local authorities." Spain travel alert: western parts of the country will be affected by Hurricane Leslie late tonight and early tomorrow. Stay indoors if you are in an affected area, monitor weather reports and follow the advice of the local authorities. @dfatravelwise — Ireland Embassy Madrid (@IrlEmbMadrid) October 13, 2018 Hurricane #Leslie has finally settled on her final holiday destination and has chosen Portugal! So if you headed to the Madeira, Algarve, Portugal or Spain be aware as she will bring strong Gusts and up to 100mm of rain with flash flooding. pic.twitter.com/CpyJpEq2w1 — Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) October 13, 2018 Irish weather expert Alan O'Reilly shared weather charts showing Leslie's potential impact on the popular Irish tourist destinations. He said: "Hurricane #Leslie has finally settled on her final holiday destination and has chosen Portugal! "So if you headed to the Madeira, Algarve, Portugal or Spain be aware as she will bring strong gusts and up to 100mm of rain with flash flooding." Meanwhile, Majorca could be hit with another week of rain, sparking fears of more floods like the ones which killed ten this week. MOST READ IN NEWS PUP update Pandemic Unemployment Payment and Wage Subsidy to begin phase out from October TONE DEAF Live music ban at pubs, restaurants and hotels sparks fury ahead of reopening urgent appeal Gardai appeal to find four children missing from Dublin for almost 3 weeks LAST ORDERS 'No alternative' but to refuse to grant Berlin D2 bar licences renewal troll hell Andrew McGinley says trolls pretended to know family & 'facts' of how kids died Down Time Dublin salon praised for introducing silent appointments after Covid reopening Shocking drone footage revealed the carnage caused by the "biblical" deluge which destroyed homes and swept away cars. And the misery could continue, with Weather.com forecasting levels of rain well into next week at the tourist destination popular with Irish holidaymakers. Four Irish counties are on yellow alert for heavy rain up to 9pm tonight after Storm Callum wreaked havoc.<doc-sep>Axios Exxon shareholders, bucking company management, voted to install at least two new members to the oil giant's board in a push to make Exxon more aggressive on addressing climate change and more disciplined in its oil investments.Why it matters: Exxon management campaigned strongly against the entire slate of four people nominated by Engine No. 1, the activist investment group whose campaign was backed by several major pension funds.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeThe election of two of the four would avoid what could have been a categorical rebuke of the oil giant's strategy, but it still represents significant investor dissent.The vote in favor of the two new board members shows that many investors see Exxon, which has had a rocky financial performance in recent years, as poorly positioned for the future. Driving the news: Shareholders voted to add Gregory Goff and Kaisa Hietala at the oil giant's annual meeting Wednesday, Exxon said at the conclusion of voting. Tabulations on other candidates are still pending, though one of the Engine No. 1 candidates was voted down, Exxon stated in a press release. It's possible that one other activist candidate will still prevail.Hietala is a a former renewables executive with the refining company Neste and Goff is the former CEO of the refiner Andeavor.What they're saying: Charlie Penner, one of Engine No. 1's leaders, told shareholders at the meeting that Exxon management is "determined to fight off the future for as long as possible," but added: "change is coming. "The big picture: The battle over replacing members of Exxon's 13-person board comes amid increasing pressure on oil majors to do more on climate change.European-based multinational giants are diversifying more widely and vowing long-term transformations to "net-zero" emissions companies by 2050.Engine No. 1 also says Exxon lacks "any serious diversification efforts" that will prepare it to thrive in a low-carbon world. The group says Exxon needs a more cautious investment approach around oil and gas.Engine No. 1's candidates won the backing of some of the company's largest shareholders, including BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street.Yes, but: Exxon says it's in step with the evolving energy mix, citing growing emphasis on carbon capture and large market opportunities there, and efforts on hydrogen and biofuels.Exxon also argues its adjusted capital strategy will deliver strong returns in oil and gas, which it notes will remain huge markets for decades despite low-carbon energy growth.The company recently set new near- and medium-term targets to cut emissions intensity (that is, emissions per unit of output), but has eschewed the long-term carbon neutrality vows of its European peers.“ExxonMobil is in a strong position to create differentiating value throughout the energy transition,” CEO Darren Woods said, touting Exxon's oil-and-gas portfolio and its investment in climate technologies. "We welcome the new directors Gregory Goff in Kaisha Hietala to the board and look forward to working with them constructively and collectively on behalf of all shareholders," Woods said.Go deeper: The intensifying battle for Exxon's futureLike this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.<doc-sep>
Storm Leslie: Chart shows HEAVY rainfall across the Atlantic The hurricane has been labelled a “zombie” because it has been meandering a huge stretch of the sea since forming on September 23, but that all could change in time for Halloween. Leslie has stayed between 30 and 65 degrees west longitude - so far well away from any land or inland seas - surviving on warm waters and moisture over the middle of the Atlantic. The latest tropical storm has been moved around by weather systems over the Atlantic Ocean but there hasn’t been a system strong enough to push the storm towards land. But a non-tropical feature is now forecast to drag Hurricane Leslie in that direction, enabling it to break free from the central Atlantic region. AccuWeather meteorologist Tyler Roys said: "The strong front moving through the United Kingdom could pull Leslie towards Europe by early next week.” As Hurricane Leslie approaches, the weather forecaster warned waves will build in size and strength, firstly around the Canary Islands, Azores and the Island of Madeira. Leslie is coming into contact with some wind shear, which could drop it down to a tropical storm category on Saturday as it pushes just north of Madeira, but heavy wind and rain are still forecast across Madeira. Heavy rain building to two inches and wind are also expected to smash into southern Portugal as early as Saturday evening. Hurricane Leslie: The tropical storm is heading towards Spain and Portugal Cities likely to be heavily impacted by the extreme weather range from Lisbon to Lagos and Faro in Portugal, to Huelva and Seville in Spain to the Strait of Gibraltar. Boys added: "Wind gusts of 65 to 80 km/h (40-50 mph) are possible across southern Portugal and southwestern Spain, especially near the coasts.” AccuWeather said there is a small chance Leslie could drift back southwards towards the Canary Islands and western Africa coast. But the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) has played down fears of Hurricane Leslie making severe contact with the Canary Islands, forecasting it will be “quite far” from them as its effects will only be felt at sea. Hurricane Leslie could reach Spain and Portugal by Sunday evening AEMET has been unable to determine the storm’s exact direction so far, but its latest prediction models estimate it will most likely head towards the north and west of the Canary Islands, but will weaken and have no “significant consequences”. The agency has forecast Hurricane Leslie will turn 180 close to the Canary Islands and begin to move away. But it could trigger large waves around the westernmost islands, with winds building to 45mph on Sunday. But despite its expected minimal impact, Hurricane Leslie could still enter the record books as the longest-living tropical cyclone. Hurricane Leslie will bring heavy rain and high winds