Storm Amy: Thousands without power as Met Éireann warns of gale force winds
Waves crash over Fenit Marina in Co Kerry. Picture: Domnick Walsh
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, has also seen the forecaster issue a status red craft warning off the west coast. The country is set to see heavy rain and gale-force winds across the island, with the south and west particularly affected.
An orange wind warning is currently in place for Donegal, along with Clare, and all of Connacht until 10pm on Friday. These counties are expected to experience the worst of the weather.
In its warning, Met Éireann warned of fallen trees, damage to power lines, possible outages, very difficult travelling conditions, and potential wave overtopping.
A status yellow wind warning for the entire island has been in place since midday. It expires at midnight. An earlier status red warning for Donegal elapsed at 6pm.
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.
Met Éireann said Storm Amy will bring "heavy rain and very windy or stormy conditions" on Friday, with winds increasing to storm or violent storm force in western and northwestern coastal areas during the afternoon and evening.
Rain from the southwest will spread across the country by lunchtime, with high temperatures of 16 to 19C.
A number of flights scheduled to land at Cork Airport this evening have been delayed, while the Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Cork has been cancelled. The 5pm service from Cork back to Frankfurt has also been cancelled.
Earlier, three flights were diverted from Cork Airport: the London-Standsted and Luton to Cork services were diverted to Shannon Airport; and the 2.30pm Faro to Cork service was diverted to London Standsted.
At Dublin Airport, 58 flights have been cancelled as of 5pm on Friday evening, with 9 flights diverted to other airports.
Airport passengers have been advised to check with their airline for updates on the status of their flight.
Officials at Shannon Airport said its services are operating as normal.
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'.”
Meanwhile, a number of warnings have also been issued for Saturday.
A status yellow wind warning for Clare, Kerry, Galway, and Mayo will be in place 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.
Donegal, Leitrim, and Sligo will be under a status yellow wind and rain warning for the same time period.
Storm Amy is also set to impact Dublin, Louth, and Wicklow on Saturday with a wind warning in place from 6am until midday.
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