Ophelia breaks no records but spares no county

Winds reached extraordinary strengths during Storm Ophelia, with one gust recorded at the Fastnet Rock, off Co Cork, reaching a 191km/h.

To put that in context, winds greater than 118km/h are classed as Force 12 — hurricane force — so even though the Fastnet weather station is 16km offshore, on high ground and particularly exposed, Ophelia reached that threshold with plenty to spare.

It was a steady build-up to that point, with Ophelia heralding her arrival on the south west with winds increasing gradually from midnight on Sunday, rising from average speeds of 37km/h with gusts of 46km/h to double those values at 6.30am yesterday morning.