Storm Amy: Thousands without power as Met Éireann issues fresh orange warning for three counties
Waves crash against the seawall as strong winds whip sea spray across Garretstown Beach, Co. Cork. Picture Dan Linehan
More than 100,000 homes and businesses remain without power as Storm Amy sweeps across Ireland, with Met Éireann having issued status red, orange, and yellow weather warnings for Friday.
The storm, the first named storm of the season, also saw the forecaster issue a status red craft warning off the west coast.
Heavy rain and gale-force winds were seen across the island on Friday, with the south and west particularly affected.
Donegal had earlier been affected by a red warning between 4pm and 6pm, before that warning was downgraded to orange.
That orange warning, which also affected Clare and all of Connacht, then lapsed at 10pm on Friday.
The entire country will be under a status yellow wind warning until midnight.
Issuing the various weather warnings on Friday, Met Éireann warned of fallen trees, damage to power lines, possible outages, very difficult travelling conditions, and potential wave overtopping.
It comes as ESB Networks said around 124,000 homes, farms, and businesses are without power, predominantly in Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Roscommon, Leitrim, and Cavan, down from a figure of 184,000 earlier on Friday.
"With Met Éireann weather warnings still in place, and the dynamic nature of the event, further power outages can be expected throughout the evening," a spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that due to the difficult conditions, it is likely that the majority of customers will not have their power restored on Friday night.
"ESB Networks crews and partner contractors have been deployed to assess the damage, make the network safe and restore electricity supply in challenging conditions. ESB Networks crews are mobilised and are working to restore power where it is safe to do so.
"Our crews will continue the restoration for as long as possible this evening but, with the difficult conditions, it is likely that the majority of customers will not have their power restored tonight.
"We acknowledge the disruption to family and commercial life this causes and thank impacted customers for their patience as our crews work to safely restore power. "
Meanwhile, a number of warnings have also been issued for Saturday.
A status orange wind warning for Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo will come into effect from 4am until 8am Saturday morning.
Met Éireann said high winds could lead to fallen trees and power lines, and further damage to already weakened structures.
A status yellow wind warning has also been issued for Clare, Kerry, Galway, and Mayo from midnight tonight until midday on Saturday. Strong to near gale force westerly winds will see the affected areas impacted by difficult travelling conditions and the possibility of debris, displaced objects, and fallen trees.
Storm Amy is also set to impact Dublin, Louth, and Wicklow on Saturday with a wind warning in place from 6am until midday.
In a statement, Keith Leonard of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management said: “It is quite clear that we will have challenging weather conditions at local level in many counties. Local Authority severe weather teams are activated and are preparing for the storm’s approach.
“For those in areas affected, I would advise they pay attention to their local conditions and members of the public should monitor Met Éireann’s ongoing advice and act accordingly. Even after the storm has passed, there is a possibility of road flooding or fallen trees so drivers are urged to take care.
“Rain and winds will be a factor overnight and early tomorrow. I would urge you to stay away from coastal areas during this period and to heed the appeal from the Irish Coast Guard for people to ‘Stay Back, Stay High, Stay Dry'.”
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