Ireland weather: Storm Agnes tracks northeastwards leaving damage in its wake

• Storm Agnes made landfall earlier this morning with thousands of homes in Co Cork now without power, and a number of flights out of Cork Airport have been cancelled. A gust of 111km/h has been recorded at Sherkin Island. The roof has been blown off a building in Youghal, Co Cork.
• Weather warning: The status orange wind warning came into force at 9am in Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow, Kilkenny and Carlow, with an orange level rain warning for Cork, Kerry and Waterford. The updated warning was issued at 9pm on Tuesday night.
• A status yellow rain warning has been issued for several counties across Munster and Leinster, specifically Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow. Heavy rain is forecast under the warning between 7am and midnight.
• Met Éireann has forecast that Storm Agnes will track northeastward across Ireland. It will be wet and very windy with strong to gale-force winds. Strong onshore winds and high seas will bring the risk of coastal flooding on eastern and southern coasts. The south and east will get the worse of the wind and rain.

In case you’re interested, Storm Agnes was named after the Irish astronomer and science writer Agnes Mary Clerke.

She was born in Skibbereen, Co Cork, in 1842, and died in London in 1907.

Wikipedia, that rock solid source of information, tells me she developed an interest in astronomy from an early age, using her father’s four inch telescope in her observations, and had begun to write a history of astronomy at the age of 15.

A number of train services are significantly delayed this evening due to the adverse weather conditions.

Some Dart services are running 25 minutes late, while there are also delays to intercity services with the Dublin Connolly to Belfast train about an hour behind schedule.

Dramatic footage has been filmed above at Hook Lighthouse in Co Wexford, showing the perilous conditions in coastal areas this evening.

You get a sense of the level of the wind strength across the country from this photograph above which shows a fairly sizeable tree that has been ripped from the ground, roots and all, in Swords, Dublin.

Good afternoon. My name is Colin Gleeson and I’ll be steering our live story on Storm Agnes for the rest of the evening now that my colleague Ronan has quite wisely headed for the hills.

Met Éireann has updated its weather forecast in the last few minutes to say Storm Agnes is currently tracking northeastwards over the country with further disruption likely in places.

It has warned of very windy conditions with strong to gale force southeasterly winds, veering southwesterly through the rest of the day.

Further outbreaks of rain will mean more localised flooding is possible. Strong onshore winds and high seas will bring the risk of coastal flooding on eastern and southern coasts.

It will stay windy for a time tonight in the north and east with strong and gusty southwesterly winds gradually easing as Storm Agnes clears towards Scotland.

Outbreaks of rain in the northeast will give way to a mix of clear spells and scattered showers.

The latest observations from Met Éireann show the highest wind speeds remain in the south. Gusts measuring 107 km/h were measured at Roche’s Point and Sherkin Island in Co Cork. The wind is picking up in east coast areas where gusts of 83 km/h have been observed at Johnstown Castle in Co Wexford followed by 81 km/h at Dublin Airport and 80 km/h at Moore Street in Co Carlow.

The wind is starting to pick up in Dublin and along the east coast now. Dublin Airport has just tweeted: “Dublin Airport is open and operating as normal today. Passengers intending to travel today are advised to check the status of specific flights directly with their airline and to allow sufficient time for their journey to the airport.”

Olivia Kelleher reports on the latest from Co Cork.

Killumney village in Co Cork experienced spot flooding earlier this morning. Other areas in the county impacted by flooding include the R579 between Muskerry Golf Club and Healy’s Bridge and on the Shournagh near Foxes Bridge between Blarney and Donoughmore.

There has been been flooding on Killeens Road, near Crossbarry village and on the N73 between Mallow and Mitchelstown. Flooding has also occurred on the Spa Road in Mallow.

A farm gate blew off near the Barn Restaurant in Glanmire while there are reports of flooding at the junction to Mallow Hospital. Ardcahan Bridge near Dunmanway is also flooded.

In the city flooding has occurred on the Monaghan Road. Drivers are urged to exercise caution. Trees are down in the Pearse Road area of Ballyphehane and on the back Douglas Road before Maryborough Woods in the city.

Over 7,000 businesses and householders in Cork were left without power this morning. Power is expected to be restored this afternoon to those who has as yet to be reconnected.

Met Éireann chief forecaster Gerry Murphy said the highest wind speed to date has been 110km/h recorded in Co Cork this afternoon.

The centre of the storm at lunchtime on Wednesday was just off the Co Kerry coast. It will track in a northeasterly direction through the midlands and the northwest.

“Everything to the south and east of that will get strong winds,” he told RTÉ's News At One programme. “The timings of the warnings are on the mark. The winds will remain strong up to 5pm this evening and then they will ease.

“As we go through this afternoon, it will still be very windy in general across the country except in the northwest.”

The strongest winds will affect the midlands and east later on this evening.

Thousands of homes in Co Cork are without power today arising out of the arrival of Storm Agnes, writes Olivia Kelleher.

1700 householders in Bandon are impacted with a further 1500 without power in Macroom. 1400 homes are without power in Cloonlough in Mitchelstown whilst 600 properties are impacted in Kanturk. Homes in Rosscarbery, Ballincollig, Beal na mBlath, Mallow, Ballyvourney and Whitechurch have also been affected. Customers can check for estimated restoration times at powercheck.ie

ESB Networks has apologised to customers who have been inconvenienced by the power cuts. Power is expected to come back on line from lunchtime today with most due to be restored by the mid afternoon.

Meanwhile, high winds have led to the cancellation of a number of flights in to Cork airport. Passengers intending to travel today are advised to exercise due vigilance when travelling to the airport arising out of the poor weather conditions. There is also a report of a tree being down on the R600 between Fivemile and the airport.

Three flights out of the airport to London Heathrow, Palma and Amsterdam were cancelled this morning. Passengers are advised to check the airport website or their flight app before travelling to the airport.

Motorists in Cork have also been urged to exercise vigilance on the roads today. The tidal surge could cause flooding in some low lying quay areas of the city including at South Terrace, Union Quay, Wandesford Quay and Morrison’s island.

Cork City Council has offered the following update:

“Storm Agnes has moved faster than anticipated across the region, therefore the predicted tidal surge no longer coincides with high tide in Cork City, reducing the anticipated risk of localised flooding in low-lying quay areas of the city. The road closures and lane restrictions announced yesterday are no longer required and Cork City Council is not predicting any tidal flooding at 5pm this evening.

“However, rainfall and strong winds are expected to continue, so Cork City Council urges road users to drive with care, as driving conditions may be poor, with strong winds blowing debris around, heavy rain affecting visibility and risk of spot flooding on roads. Please slow down and drive with extra care and attention.

“This morning a number of trees few across the city due to the strong winds and there were a number of minor localised flooding issues.

“Cork City Council Roads, Drainage and Parks crews have been onsite all morning addressing these issues, clearing debris, fallen trees and branches from roads and to address surface flooding issues.

“Cork City Council would like to remind communities and businesses that the two Orange Weather Warnings remain in place until later this afternoon and that they need to continue to take due care and attention of this significant weather event.

“Householders are asked to secure loose items such as wheelie bins, garden furniture, trampolines, etc.”

Met Éireann chief forecaster Gerry Murphy has told the Today with Claire Byrne Show the peak danger time is between now and 5pm in the counties with an orange weather warning.

An orange weather warning means be prepared for bad weather. Falling trees and power outrages are likely.

The very strong winds from Cork city will not coincide, fortunately, with high tide in the city this evening. There remains, though, a chance of coastal flooding in west Cork.

There are very high waves off the south coast that people need to be aware of, he cautioned.

The latest rainfall radar from Met Éireann indicates that heavy rain is affecting most parts of the country. A mean wind speed of 69km/h is already being experienced at Sherkin Island off the coast of Co Cork. That level of wind speed vindicates the orange level warning issued for Co Cork.

The storm surge around the Waterford Estuary is forecast to be significant and in the range of approximately 60cm and this will coincide with astronomical spring tides close to highest astronomical tide, Waterford County Council has warned.

Kieran Kehoe, Director of Services with Waterford City and County Council, has urged the public to exercise caution. “With the possibility of severe winds and localised and coastal flooding, driving conditions will be difficult, there is the risk of localised flooding, fallen trees and branches and poor visibility, all which will make journeys hazardous.

“Waterford City and County Council’s severe weather management team is monitoring the situation, and ground crews are on standby to deal with any issues that may arise. We would urge the public to heed all public safety advice and avoid unnecessary journeys until Storm Agnes has receded.”

Some 60 households in Ballincollig, Co Cork, have a power outage. Power is due to be restored at 12.30pm.

There are reports that Storm Agnes has made landfall in Clonakilty By with driving rain accompanying the wind. There are also video footage emerging on social media of wind and rain in Rosscarbery in west Cork. High tide is around 4.30pm in Cork. Onshore winds and heavy rain could lead to coastal flooding.

Brendan Creagh from Met Éireann last night explained why this storm could do damage: “We get these kind of weather systems any time of the year. It’s just when they reach the numerical values of status orange they can do a bit more damage than they would in winter when they are more common due to the trees still being in leaf.”

“But it’s going to be persistent for the whole day and it’s going to be a whole day event really as the [storm] makes it’s way to Scotland by say midnight tomorrow.”

Good morning. My name is Ronan McGreevy and I will be live blogging Storm Agnes today. If you have any observations, photographs or comments, you can contact me at ronan.mcgreevy@irishtimes.com