‘Worst storm in 25 years’ looms
Gusts of up to 100mph have been forecast for later tonight with the north-west likely to bear the brunt of the bad weather.
Following Sunday night’s storm which claimed the lives of 13 people across Europe, the country is bracing itself for another period of extreme weather over the next 24 hours.
Met Éireann yesterday issued a severe weather warning to alert the public to dangerous conditions likely to be caused by extreme gales and driving rain.
Weather forecasters claimed there was an increased risk of flooding in all areas, particularly along the Atlantic coast, due to a combination of storm force winds, heavy rain and spring tides. They have also warned the public that the force of the gales could bring down ESB power lines in many areas as well as causing structural damage to trees and buildings.
Motorists are being advised to avoid unnecessary journeys from this afternoon when the storm will reach the south-west coast before passing over the rest of the country.
A Met Éireann spokesperson, Pat Clarke, said violent winds up to Force-11 could be reached in exposed parts of the west and north later tonight with a high risk of structural damage. All parts are likely to have gusts of 70-80 mph during the storm which will last until the early hours of tomorrow morning. South to south-west winds will reach 30-40mph this morning with gusts of 50-70mph in some coastal areas.
The storm will intensify later this afternoon with wind speeds reaching an average of 45-55mph, thereby increasing the risk of flooding due to onshore winds.
Similar weather last October which caused severe flooding in Cork, Clonmel and Waterford could hit the Shannon estuary today, Met Éireann has warned.
He claimed today’s storm, which is caused by a severe depression travelling in a north-easterly direction over the Atlantic, would be the most violent to hit Ireland since the late 1970s.
Tomorrow’s forecast is for a cold, windy day with some risk of sleet and hail showers, although the worst effects of the storm will have passed by 6am. In contrast, Thursday is likely to be a bright, sunny day, following a frosty start.
Meanwhile, the Irish Water Safety Association has warned members of the public about the increased risk they face with the likelihood of flood conditions.
IWSA chief executive, John Leech advised motorists to take particular care with flooded areas on roads adjacent to rivers.
Today’s storm comes just over 24 hours after further bad weather disrupted flights at Dublin Airport and resulted in bad flooding in east Galway.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Shannon Airport on Sunday night after flights were diverted from Dublin where winds reached 60mph.
Aer Arann, which was forced to cancel 10 flights on Sunday evening, said all its customers had been accommodated on flights yesterday. The airline will be monitoring today’s weather situation carefully.
Meanwhile, many roads around the Galway village of Craughwell were impassable yesterday due to heavy flooding in the area which also saw thousands of acres of farmland under water.
