Storm Floris: At least 7,000 homes without power as eight counties are under Status Yellow warnings

Irish Independent

3 days ago

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Ireland is likely to avoid the worst of Storm Floris, with winds expected to peak slightly above 100kmh as the Atlantic storm sweeps across the north-west and towards Scotland.
Parts of Scotland – which is ­directly in the storm's path – could see winds potentially reach a damaging 160kmh, with everything from ferries to flights likely to be disrupted as the storm passes today and tomorrow.
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6 minutes ago
At least 7,000 without power as Floris hits the west coast of Ireland
The worst of Storm Floris has been raging since the early hours of the morning as gale force winds and 'unseasonably wet' conditions threaten dangerous road conditions, with several power outages already reported.
Outages began hitting homes mainly in western counties, though some further inland too, affecting almost 7,000 customers, according to the ESB.
Drifting over counties along the west coast is a large band of rain which is bringing the potential for flooding and a threat of thundery conditions.
On Saturday, Met Éireann issued three separate Status Yellow weather warnings for eight counties in the region.
A rain warning was put in place for counties Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo and took effect at 2am this morning. It will remain valid until 10am.
The national forecaster also placed a wind warning on counties Clare, Galway, Mayo and Sligo, valid from 2am on Monday to 1pm in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, another Status Yellow Wind Warning is active for counties Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan and Leitrim, valid since the slightly later time of 4am and due to expire at 4pm.
Met Éireann is warning members of the public of adverse conditions such as difficult travel conditions, fallen trees, power outages and lightning damage across the affected counties.
The forecaster expects the heavy rainfall from the storm to move eastwards, leaving behind some clearer spells as Storm Floris dies out in the afternoon with temperatures of between 16C and 21C.
It has characterised its outlook for the rest of the week as 'unsettled'.
Tomorrow will bring a welcome reprieve from the heavy rain and gale force winds of the past 12 hours as dry and warm weather is set to pervade the country, with temperatures of up to 21C.
Wednesday looks like it will be a largely dry day with isolated showers in parts and maximum temperatures of 19C.
Keith Kelly
8 minutes ago
Wind and rain rage across the island but Ireland to miss worst of Storm Floris
Ireland is likely to avoid the worst of Storm Floris, with winds expected to peak slightly above 100kmh as the Atlantic storm sweeps across the north-west and towards Scotland this morning.
Parts of Scotland – which is ­directly in the storm's path – could see winds potentially reach a damaging 160kmh, with everything from ferries to flights likely to be disrupted as the storm passes today and tomorrow.
Met Éireann has issued Status Yellow wind warnings for Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Donegal, Cavan, Leitrim and Monaghan. These will be in place until between 1pm and 4pm today, depending on the track of Storm Floris.
Rain warnings have been issued for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo, and these are expected to be lifted at 10am today as the rain is expected to pass over Ireland quite quickly.
People have been warned to expect potentially dangerous travelling conditions across the north-west, with storm debris, fallen trees and potential structural damage to walls and buildings.
ESB Networks repair crews are on standby as power outages are also possible in some areas. Fallen trees often cause the greatest damage to the power grid.
Bank holiday Monday will start off wet and windy
Gardaí have urged people to drive with care and, if possible, to postpone journeys until wind conditions have eased in the areas subject to the Status Yellow alert.
A Met Éireann spokesperson said: 'Bank holiday Monday will start off wet and windy across the country, with strong and gusty south-west to west winds, reaching gale force along western and northern coasts.
'The rain will clear eastwards through the morning, with sunny spells and scattered showers to follow, most frequent in the north and north-west.
'Winds will gradually ease through the day with highest temperatures of 16C to 21C, coolest in the north and north-west.'
Tomorrow will start with good bright spells and scattered showers, though cloud will increase early on for a time before breaking up again by the early afternoon. Highest temperatures are likely to be 15C to 20C.