Red weather alert for Clare

A RED alert weather warning has been issued by Met Éireann.  The wind warning covers the western coastal counties of Clare, Galway, Mayo and Kerry, as well as Wexford and Waterford in the south-east.

Severe and damaging gusts of up to 140kmh are expected this evening. The gusts will reach 150kmh in more exposed coastal areas.

Met Éireann have also warned of “very high seas” with a significant danger of coastal flooding. The red alert is in place for almost 24 hours – from 5pm today to 3pm tomorrow.

The most serious weather alert is red, which means people should take action to protect themselves and/or their property.

Met Eireann issued amber alert yesterday for today’s storm – but they upgraded this for some parts of the country before noon today.

An amber alert remains in place for the remainder of the country.

Meanwhile, motorists have been warned to watch out for falling trees and debris.

A Met Éireann spokesperson said, “Southeast winds will strengthen during the day and it will become very windy or stormy once again in the evening and night, with severe or possibly damaging gusts.”

Tonight, in the west and south west of the country, will see winds gusting to speeds of 120 to 150kmh, especially in coastal areas.

“There will also be heavy rain or sleet, which will clear to heavy or thundery showers of rain or hail overnight,” the spokesperson added.

Motorists should expect icy roads on Saturday night as temperatures drop to -2C.

There are also fears that the winds could bring down power lines after up to 30,000 homes were left without electricity on Christmas Eve and for several hours yesterday. But power was restored to the households, which were mostly in the West, by last evening.

Achill Island, off Co Mayo, was worst-affected after it faced the additional problem of low-voltage transformers being knocked out.