Residents living in the five counties covered by a status orange wind warning have been told not to venture out tonight because of the effects of Storm Gerrit.
The southeast appeared to be bearing the brunt of the storm on Wednesday night with over 1,700 customers losing power in Wexford town at around 9pm and surrounding areas while over 60 customers were similarly affected in Dunmore East in Co Waterford.
In west Cork, over 130 customers near Cúil Aodha and Réidh na nDoirí in the Muskerry Gaeltacht were left without power as high winds from Storm Gerrit continued to pulverise the county as ESB repairs crews worked to restore supply.
Earlier, Met Éireann issued a status orange wind warning, which means “dangerous and disruptive” conditions, for counties Clare, Cork, Kerry, Waterford and Wexford until midnight. A status orange alert is for mean wind speeds between 65km/h and 80km/h with gusts of between 100km/h and 130km/h.
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In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday night, the forecaster reported “intense” lightning strikes across the south coast.
Met Éireann forecaster Joanna Donnelly said there is a possibility there could be localised status red wind speeds which could be life-threatening for people outdoors.
There will be thunderstorms in the areas covered by the warning with very strong gusts of wind. “Things are going to get very hairy in the southwest,” she said.
“There is potential for people to experience isolated pockets of significantly bad weather. People should stay indoors and take all necessary precautions to protect life and property.”
Stena Line has cancelled the scheduled 8pm sailing from Rosslare to Cherbourg and passengers will have to wait for another 24 hours for the next sailing. The ferry company also cancelled the 7.30pm Rosslare to Fishguard due to “adverse weather conditions on the Irish Sea”.
Cork County Council staff were on standby with pumps and businesses were supplied with sand bags in Bantry to try to prevent any repeat of the flooding that hit the town at around 9.30pm when high tides over topped the quay walls and flooded some premises around the Square.
Council staff were also busy in Mallow and Fermoy putting up flood protection barriers in anticipation of high volumes of water coming down the Blackwater valley after high volumes of rain fell its catchment area extending back to Ballydesmond on the Cork-Kerry border.
High winds have led to falling trees knocking out power lines with some 89 customers around Kenmare in Co Kerry, some 26 customers at Kilmoney near Carrigaline in Co Cork and ten customers at Singland near Limerick among those to lose electricity for a period.
Meanwhile, there is a status yellow warning, which means “localised danger”, in place for wind and rain across the entire country until midnight tonight.
That warning has been issued in response to very strong and gusty southwesterly winds in conjunction with spring tides, which “may lead to coastal flooding”.
The forecaster also warned of squally showers, with a chance of thunderstorms, which may lead to localised flooding.
Though the strongest winds will have passed by midnight, more windy weather is in store on Thursday for the counties of Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Clare and Kerry with an orange level marine warning for the south and west coasts.
There is potential for coastal flooding in some parts of the countries affected by the yellow warning which comes into place at midnight and lasts until 6am on Friday morning.
In the North, the Department of Infrastructure said there had been more than 130 flooding incidents reported, and 28 incidents of fallen trees of branches obstructing roads.
As of 5.15pm on Wednesday, several roads were closed, including the Blaris Road in Lisburn, Co Antrim, which was shut at both ends due to flooding.
The Coast Road in Co Antrim was closed near Glenarm due to a landslide, with diversions in place, with roads in Larne, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, Augher, Co Tyrone and Newry, Co Down also inaccessible.
Galway County Council on Wednesday warned people to “stay back, stay high, and stay dry”. Car parks were closed at Tofts in Salthill, Silverstrand, and Ballyloughane, where only local access is permitted.
Met Éireann has also issued a status orange marine warning for storms from Howth Head to Dungarvan to Slyne Head and on the Irish Sea. Southwest winds will reach storm force 10 at times. That warning is in place from 5pm until 3am on Thursday.
There is a small craft warning in place for all coasts of Ireland until 6am on Friday. Southwesterly winds, veering westerly, will reach force six or higher.
There is also a status yellow gale warning in place from Belfast Lough to Hook Head to Erris Head and on the Irish Sea until 4am on Thursday. Southwesterly winds will reach gale force eight or strong gale force nine.
In Britain, there has been widespread disruption to travel on rail and road. Police Scotland urged drivers stuck on the A9 road due to the effects of Storm Gerrit to remain in their vehicles. Heavy snow led to cars becoming stranded on parts of the road near Drumochter in the Highlands before snowploughs were able to start clearing a way through.
Drivers have been asked to stay in their vehicles, keep warm and tune in to local radio or social media where further updates will be provided as soon as possible. Several of the country’s major roads are closed and all trains have been cancelled north of Perth and Dundee. – Additional reporting PA
