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Tag Archives: weather

The aftermath of Storm Desmond is still being felt around Ennis.

Flood defences still leaking water

Our videos, taken on Sunday afternoon, clearly show that the flood walls around Ennis, built a few years ago at great expense, are allowing water to leak through onto the streets. This first video is around Bank Place, below the bridge. It clearly shows water seeping through at the bottom of the wall. Next, it’s the same story at the Mill wheel, near the Maid of Erin roundabout. Finally, two videos showing the level of the water in the river.

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Storm Desmond hits Clare

2015’s weather is finishing off with a bit of a flourish with Storm Desmond reaching Clare, causing high winds and lots of flooding. Our pictures show some of the devastation, particularly in West Clare. An emergency number, 1890  252 943, has been set up to allow members of the public to report flooding, blocked roads or fallen trees. More on Storm Desmond and how it’s affecting Ennis flood defences here. [doptg id=”87″]  

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Whitegate Races postponed again

  Adverse weather conditions have resulted in the cancellation of the Whitegate Pony Races for a second time within the last week. With large volumes of rain forecast for this Friday in addition to the recent wet conditions, the Whitegate racecourse remains waterlogged. The race meeting, which was due to start at 1 pm this Sunday, May 14 has been cancelled and rescheduled for Sunday, June 14 next. Last Saturday, committee members decided to call off the races, which were due to be held the following day and immediately informed the Midlands Horse and Pony Association to give participants as much notice as possible. This was previously flagged as the main headline event of May Bank Holiday Festival in Whitegate, which attracted large crowds to the locality. Equine enthusiasts from places like Cork, Dingle, Kenmare, Claremorris, Kildare and all over the country were preparing to flock to Whitegate for the nine-race card involving between 60 and 70 ponies. These races …

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Cold and wet winter in Clare, stats show

IT was a fairly cold winter in Clare, Met Éireann figures have indicated. Met Éireann defines winter as December, January and February and it found that mean temperatures for the period were 0.2 degrees below what would be expected. Meanwhile rainfall for the season was 17% above average, while the amount of sunshine was 12% above average. Met Éireann also released statistics for the month of February, which also reflected a cold and wet month. The mean temperature was nearly a full degree below average for the time of year, while the amount of rainfall was 20% above normal. There was five per cent less sunshine than average.

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Škoda's Octavia is now available with four wheel drive in both estate and hatchback versions.

Octavia hatchback 4×4 launched

In a very well-timed move, given our recent weather, Škoda have announced that their Octavia is now available with four wheel drive in hatchback form. Previously, this drivetrain was only available as an estate. The new hatchback cuts the entry-point price by €1,100. The market for 4WD models in Ireland is heavily weather dependent. During the cold snap in 2012, Škoda 4×4 sales increased fivefold as a direct consequence of the severe weather the previous winter. With the last few mild winters, interest in 4WD has decreased, but it only takes a bit of snow and ice for the market to sit up and take notice again. Like the existing estate, the Octavia 4×4 uses a Haldex electronic clutch to provide permanent all wheel drive. During normal driving, power is sent to the front wheels only to save fuel. If conditions dictate, power can instantly be sent to the back axle also avoiding the risk of a skid. The system …

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Martin McDonnell, originally from Kilkee, enjoys a read of The Clare Champion in snowy Ontario.

Chilling out with The Champion

KILKEE man Martin McDonnell returned to his native town for a holiday this Christmas, for the first time in five years. Martin and his wife, Tracy, live in Muskoka, Ontario, and to underline his West Clare credentials, Martin brought a copy of The Clare Champion back to Canada with him. His wife then took a photograph of him reading it outside. “He just had to get a photo of himself with The Clare Champion,” Tracy laughed. “Martin says don’t complain about the Clare weather. It’s minus 18 here at the moment. He’d take the weather back home any time, including the rain,” she added. Muskoka, is a regional municipality located in Central Ontario, Canada. Muskoka extends from Georgian Bay in the west, to the northern tip of Lake Couchiching in the south, to the western border of Algonquin Provincial Park in the east. Located approximately a two-hour car drive north of Toronto Muskoka has some 1,600 lakes, making it a …

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Shannon stays open in snow

A SPOKESMAN for Shannon Airport said this morning that following efforts throughout the night all flights were continuing to operate at the Clare airport, despite the severe snow that struck the county yesterday evening. Met Éireann have warned that a severe storm is set to hit western counties, including Clare from early afternoon, with winds of up to 130km and heavy rain forecast. Clare County Council says that the worst conditions will be along the coast and they have advised people not to venture out or to drive on exposed roads while these conditions prevail.    

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County Council winter ready

Clare County Council says it has “ample” supplies of rock salt to treat the County’s roads during the coming winter. In excess of 1,o00 tonnes of rock salt are currently in storage at the local authority’s depot and maintenance facility at Beechpark including stocks held over from last winter, which was one of the mildest in recent years. Salt stocks will also be drawn down by the council during the winter from the National Roads Authority (NRA) and the Department of Transport (DTTAS), which has allocated 2,200 additional tonnes to Clare. Further stocks will be available if required in an emergency situation from the NRA’s strategic salt reserve. Clare County Council’s fleet of salt spreader trucks will facilitate road treatment operations during the winter season. Salt stocks will be used to treat strategic national, excluding the motorway network, and non-national routes around Clare during the winter season. Clare’s motorway and dual carriageways will be treated directly by contractors on behalf …

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