Storms to send the year out with a bang

THE year is about to come to a wet and windy end with severe storms set to batter the country.

Two storms were lined up off the south-west coast last night and are expected to arrive in two waves — the first tonight and the second on New Year’s Eve.

Gale-force winds of up to 120 kilometres per hour — strong enough to cause structural damage — are forecast. And with up to three inches of rain expected over the coming days, Met Éireann warned of possible flooding around the drenched Shannon basin, in the Midlands and in the south-west.