Thousands without power amid countrywide yellow wind warnings

Met Éireann has warned of wave over-topping in affected coastal areas on Thursday. File Picture: Domnick Walsh/Eye Focus 

Thousands of homes were left without power on Thursday as high winds associated with a pair of yellow wind warnings impacted the entire country.

Earlier, more than 3,500 homes and business lost electricity in and around Arklow, Co Wicklow. 

Service was restored to 1,700 or so customers in the Ballybeg area shortly after 11.30am, and to a further 1,700 customers in the Tinahask area by 1.30pm. 

Around 3,200 customers also power in Bantry in West Cork, while 2,500 more were impacted in the Castletownbere area. 

However, ESB crews were able to restore power to most homes and businesses in West Cork before midday.

As of 2pm, 2,000 homes and businesses had lost electricity in Kilkenny. ESB crews said they are hoping to restore services before 3pm. 

Faults also remain in several other areas including Kerry, Clare, Tipperary, Waterford, Donegal, Sligo, Roscommon, and parts of south Dublin.

"This morning, the largest outages are in Wicklow town, Arklow and Bantry. So far, the scale of disruption has been in line with past experiences of similar warnings," an ESB spokesperson said.

"ESB Networks crews are responding to outages as quickly and safely as possible."

Meanwhile, a pair of Status Yellow wind warnings affecting the entire country remain in place.

The first, which encompasses Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford will remain in effect until 8pm. 

During this time, Met Éireann is warning of very strong northwesterly winds as well the risk of loose debris, uprooted trees and other displace objects.

Motorists and cyclists have also been warned of difficult travelling conditions.

Status Yellow - Wind warning for Clare, Kerry, Donegal, Connacht

NW winds will be very strong at times. High waves are also expected⚠️

Potential Impacts:
• Wave overtopping
• Debris, loose objects displaced
• Difficult driving & cycling conditions⤵️https://t.co/l8JdKfwZt9 pic.twitter.com/wRMaxIFjJa

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 20, 2023

All bar one of the wind warnings have expired.

A warning remains in place for Donegal and Leitrim until 9am on Friday.

Adverse weather conditions have not seen any flight cancellations, though one Dublin to Manchester service was forced to return to Dublin due to high winds in the north of England.

Passengers travelling on Thursday have been advised to check the status of the flight with their airline for the any updates.

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