Thousands Without Power Across The Country As Ireland Is Hit By Winds ‘Stronger Than Storm Deirdre’

Strong winds and torrential rain have hit several parts of the country hard overnight, leaving thousands of homes without power.

Commuters are also being warned to be careful when travelling this morning as fallen trees and spot flooding are impacting several areas.

Two yellow warnings for heavy rain and wind were in place overnight as Ireland was battered by gusts of more than 100km/h.

My station has recorded a gust of 98kmh now, a station on the Blackstairs Mountains has recorded 79mph which is 128kmh, as this unnamed system brings winds much stronger than #StormDeirdre to many areas. pic.twitter.com/xvtVc51DRP

— Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) December 18, 2018

Carlow Weather’s Alan O’Reilly said, ‘My station has recorded a gust of 100kmh now, a station on the Blackstairs Mountains has recorded 79mph which is 128km/h, as this unnamed system brings winds much stronger than #StormDeirdre to many areas. ‬

‘Eastern areas will see the worst of the weather during rush hour this morning.’

Around 6,000 homes around the country, mainly in Carlow and Wicklow, are without power at the moment and ESB crews are hoping to have them back up and running by this afternoon.

Thankfully, the rain and wind are both expected to clear later this morning.

A Met Éireann forecaster said, “Heavy rain and gales will affect the north and east at first today with some spot flooding.

“The rain will clear by around mid-morning and the southerly winds will ease as brighter conditions further west extends across the country bringing scattered showers.

“Highest temperatures will range 6°C to 9°C with winds becoming fresh southwest.

“There will be scattered showers with clear spells tonight. The showers will become heavy and frequent later in the west but there will be a lot of dry weather elsewhere.”

Main image via @CarlowWeather

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