Orange warning for Cork and Kerry as Storm Kathleen to sweep country at weekend

The status orange wind warning will impact Cork, Kerry, Galway and Mayo from 7am on Saturday until 5pm that evening

Conditions on Saturday morning will be very windy with widespread showers and gusts of upwards of 100km/h forecast. File picture: Denis Minihane

Storm Kathleen is set to sweep through Ireland this weekend with a status orange wind warning being issued for four counties.

It comes as a nationwide status yellow wind warning has also been issued by Met Éireann.

The orange warning, which will impact Cork, Kerry, Galway and Mayo, will be in place from 7am on Saturday until 5pm that evening.

Met Éireann warned: "Storm Kathleen will bring gale force southerly winds, with some severe and damaging gusts."

Possible impacts include:

• Very difficult travel conditions;
• Fallen trees;
• Some power outages;
• Coastal flooding;
• Wave overtopping.

The storm comes as a low-pressure system is currently moving towards Ireland from the Iberian Peninsula

Meanwhile, the nationwide status yellow wind warning comes into place at 7am on Saturday. 

Met Éireann is forecasting difficult travel conditions, fallen trees with debris and loose objects being displaced. Coastal flooding is also expected. The warning will be in place until 8pm on Saturday. 

⚠️Status Yellow - Wind warning for Ireland⚠️
07:00 Saturday to 20:00 Saturday 06/04

Very strong and gusty southerly winds

Possible impacts:

• Some fallen trees
• Difficult travel conditions
• Debris, loose objects displaced
• Some coastal floodinghttps://t.co/w5QtJ1UyEP pic.twitter.com/agn3PF3qhw

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) April 4, 2024

Cork County Council urges public to avoid coastal areas

A spokesperson for Cork County Council urged members of the public to "stay high, stay dry and stay away from the coast, rivers and lakes" during the weather warning. 

"Cork County Council wishes to advise road users to be aware of the danger posed by high winds and to be aware of any surface debris. Motorists are also asked to be especially conscious of cyclists and pedestrians," the spokesperson said. 

The Council also said that Dursey Cable Car will be closed on Saturday, April 6 and will return to operation "only when wind speeds permit and following inspection if necessary." 

It said any updates will be posted on Cork County Council's social media accounts. 

It also issued the following guidance on power and water outages, and emergency events:

• Fallen trees, flooding and road damage should be reported to the relevant local area office during working hours on [phone] or by contacting the Council’s Emergency Out of Hours number [phone] over the weekend.
•  Power supply disruptions should be reported to ESB Networks at 1800 372 999. 
• Disruptions to water supply should be reported to Uisce Éireann at 1800 278 278.
• In the event of an emergency, people should call 999 or 112 and request the Fire Service, Ambulance Service, Gardaí or Irish Coastguard, as appropriate. 

Weekend forecast

According to Met Éireann's Gerry Murphy, Thursday night will be "wet with persistent rain" which will gradually clear to the north as the night progresses. Temperatures tonight will fall to about 6C to 10C.

Friday will be cloudy and blustery, with longer spells of rain setting in from the morning onwards, particularly in the south. However, Friday will be a milder day than recently, with temperatures ranging between 13C and 16C.

Strong and gusty winds will follow on Friday night and continue into Saturday morning, particularly along southern and western coasts, and some spot flooding is also likely during this time, Mr Murphy said.

Conditions on Saturday morning will be very windy with widespread showers and gusts of upwards of 100km/h forecast. Winds will ease somewhat by Saturday evening, though they will remain fresh to strong and gusty. Temperatures on Saturday will range from 13C to 15C.

Saturday night will bring clear spells and some scattered, blustery showers to much of the country, with temperatures dropping back to around 6C to 8C.

Sunday too will be blustery and bright, with yet more scattered showers expected. Winds on Sunday will again be quite strong before ultimately easing off by Sunday night. Temperatures on Sunday will range from 10C to 12C.