3,000 customers without power after overnight storm

Some 3000 customers remain without power this afternoon after the heavy rain and powerful winds overnight.

A spokesman for the ESB said counties Wexford and Wicklow were the worst affected areas with smaller outages in Co Cork.

He said crews were working to restore power and said all customers would be reconnected by this evening. The majority of outages were caused by falling trees hitting power lines.

Around 1,200 electricity customers remain without power in Northern Ireland. Gales swept across the eastern counties of Down and Antrim, with more than 8,000 homes and properties losing supply as poles came down and tree branches fell on top of lines.

A number of roads were closed due to downed trees and other debris.

Operator Northern Ireland Electricity said around 200 faults remained on the network, mainly in coastal and isolated areas.

Met Éireann issued a Status Orange marine gale warning at 6am as winds were predicted to continue to reach gale force 8 to storm force 10 for a time from Malin Head to Howth Head to Carnsore Point and the Irish Sea.

Orange weather warnings are issued for weather conditions which have the capacity to have a significant impact on people in affected areas.

The warning has now been cancelled and a spokesman for Met Éireann said conditions are predicted to become calmer as the day goes on.

The strongest gusts recorded over the last 12 hours were at Roches Point in Cork where the wind reached 115.3 km/h; at Cork airport where gusts reached 104.5km/h and at Malin Head in Donegal where they reached 100.9km/h.

Galway City Council issued a flood warning today for the remainder of the week.

From high tide at 5pm tomorrow (TUES) until Friday at 7pm there is a danger of flooding in the Spanish Arch area and along the promendade at Salthill. The areas most likely to be affected are along the Promenade, Seapoint Promenade in Salthill, Grattan Road and at Fishmarket, Spanish Arch.

People are advised to take care at high tide in these areas. A safety barrier is being installed along Fishmarket Quay at the Spanish Arch and sandbags will be made available to protect properties in the area.

Northside Dart and northern commuter services in Dublin were suspended for a time this morning due to a fallen tree on overhead lines.

There were also delays to southside Dart services due to minor flooding at Sandycove.

Driving

Motorists are being advised to slow down and take extra care after the heavy rain and winds. Excess surface water and wind-blown debris were likely to be a problem on secondary roads in particular, according to AA Roadwatch.

AA Roadwatch told motorists: “Only drive through water if you know it’s not too deep for your car. If you have to drive through standing water, drive through the centre of the road as that is the highest point.”

Fallen trees are causing problems throughout the country. The New Road in Donabate is blocked while in Ballyfermot in Dublin a fallen tree is blocking one lane on the Blackditch Road and is passable with care. The Council has been notified. Tandy’s Lane in Lucan is also blocked.

In Co Meath, there is a fallen tree on the Julianstown/Laytown Road (R150) and extreme care is needed on the Straffan/Kill Road in Co Kildare near Whitechurch and Canal Bridge.

Fallen trees are also causing problems on the Naas/Blessington Rd (R410) at Glending and on the Naas/Rathangan Road at Victoria bridge.

Church Lane in Greystones is closed. Fallen trees along the N81 Dublin/Baltinglass Road near Lacken Equestrian Centre have been cleared.

Ferries

Irish Ferries has cancelled the 8.45am Jonathan Swift fast ferry crossing to Holyhead and the 11.50am Holyhead to Dublin sailing due to the weather conditions.

Passengers will be accommodated on the Ulysses Cruise ferry sailings.

Flights

Several flights were forced to divert to other airports last night because of high winds including a Ryanair service which diverted to Shannon from Cork and then to Dublin.

A spokeswoman for Dublin airport said two flights due to arrive at the airport this morning were cancelled due to the adverse weather. They are flight EI3201 from Kerry and flight EI3281 from Bristol.

Winds at Shannon were reported to be gusting up to 80 kmh while Cork Airport experienced wind speeds of 104.5km/h.

A Ryanair flight from Stansted Airport was unable to land at Shannon and opted to divert to Cork Airport instead. However, the crew of flight FR-109 was unable to land in Cork and decided instead to divert to Dublin.

A spokeswoman for Cork airport said the airport was fully operational today.

Meanwhile, an Easyjet flight that was unable to land at Belfast Airport was forced to declare an emergency and divert to Glasgow.

The winds may have abated for now but heavy showers with a risk of thunder are forecast to feed in from the Atlantic during the day.

Highest temperatures will range from 11 to 14 degrees Celsius and the east coast will see heavy showers overnight. It will be cold with clear spells and some areas will see grass frost before morning. Lowest temperatures 1 to 4 degrees Celsius with just a light variable breeze.