THE FIRST spell of bad weather of the winter forced the cancellation of ferry crossings on the Irish Sea yesterday and some flights were diverted from Dublin airport after high winds and heavy rain set in.
Light snow fell in parts of Donegal and strong gusts of wind in Dublin blew large pieces of lead from the roof of the Natural History Museum into the Leinster House car park.
A number of vehicles owned by Oireachtas members were damaged in the incident but nobody was hurt. The incident happened around 4pm.
The 150-year-old museum on Merrion Street had to be temporarily closed to the public in July 2007 after a staircase collapsed.
Several flights due to land at Dublin airport were diverted to Belfast and Shannon due to the poor conditions.
They included flights from Vienna, Berlin, Glasgow and Barcelona, which were diverted to Belfast, and flights from Warsaw, Rome, Amsterdam, Munich and London, which were diverted to Shannon.
One American Airlines flight was diverted to London Heathrow. In total, 14 inbound and five outbound flights were affected.
A spokeswoman for Dublin airport last night said winds had eased and that operations had returned to normal on the main runway.
Irish Ferries’ Swift fast craft sailings from Dublin to Holyhead and back were cancelled, but the company said passengers would be accommodated on the cruise service.
Fastnet and Stena Line sailings were operating as normal. PO sailings on the Dublin to Liverpool route were also operating as scheduled.
There was spot flooding in Ulster and spot flooding was also forecast in Connacht after heavy downpours.
Met Éireann forecast extreme winds of 90 to 120km/ph with rain moving across the country and some heavy downpours into late last night.
It said the high winds would ease overnight before colder air moves in.
The gale-force winds also prompted an alert from the Irish Coast Guard. A small craft warning was issued while authorities warned rough seas along coasts often cause fishing vessels to capsize.
The Coast Guard advised the public to stay off exposed coasts, cliffs, piers, harbour walls, beaches, promenades or any other coastal areas during the inclement weather. It said huge waves could be whipped up by high seas.