Tag Archives: Storm Barra

IF the wind on Tuesday had been just a little worse Storm Barra could have done much more damage, West Clare businessman Kevin Heapes feels. He runs Pure Camping in Querrin and operates his own weather station on the site, which recorded a gust of 126.7km on Tuesday afternoon. “I publish it on the web, where anyone can look at it. It’s useful for campers coming down, they might be in an office in Dublin and wondering what it’s like in west Clare. At the same time I’d have interest in the weather and its’ great watching the gusts and seeing what’s happening, especially on a day like Tuesday.” When that speed was reached Clare hadn’t even reached red alert status, but thankfully things didn’t deteriorate as the afternoon went on. “We got those gusts around 2pm and we didn’t go into red alert until 4pm, so I was thinking it’s either come early or it’s going to be very …

Public compliance ‘undoubtedly saved lives’ CLARE all but closed down on Tuesday afternoon as Storm Barra saw a red alert imposed across the county. Schools across Clare were shut on both Tuesday and Wednesday, while thousands of people, especially in the North and West of the county, were without power for a period of time. While there were a number of trees down, the level of damage wasn’t as severe as many had feared, and certainly didn’t rival Storms Christine and Darwin, which wreaked havoc in 2014. However, Chief Fire Officer with Clare County Council Adrian Kelly said that the precautions taken by the public had been crucial in preventing loss of life. “The widespread compliance with the ‘stay at home’ Status Red alert in Clare alert undoubtedly saved lives given the extent of fallen trees and flying debris around the county. The closing of schools and businesses, together with the safety messaging both locally and nationally greatly helped to …

WHILE the worst of Storm Barra has passed, Clare’s local authority is appealing to the public to remain cautious about resuming travel in the county. The possibility of trees being significantly weakened by the high gusts yesterday evening and falling later on today cannot be ruled out. Due to the wind direction during the severe weather event, many trees will have been weakened, and further work may need to be carried out to remove such danger. If members of the public come across any road hazards, they should report them to Clare County Council. During the morning the Municipal District crews will be evaluating the damage to the roads/coastal infrastructure and carrying out works as necessary to remove the danger. Fire Brigades across the county attended weather-related incidents from early Tuesday morning (06.50) until earlier today (04.30) dealing with fallen trees, cables, and property damage. There were no reported accidents to the Fire Service during the Status Red alert. During …

SCHOOLS in county Clare that were closed today have been advised to remain shut tomorrow, Wednesday, December 8. The Department of Education is advising that all schools that are currently or forecast to be in a Red or Orange alert area should remain closed to allow for assessment of the impact of Storm Barra to take place. This includes counties Clare Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Limerick, Galway, Mayo and Wexford. Schools that are no longer in a Red or Orange Alert area can reopen, provided that, if there are concerns, school managers have had an opportunity to check for fallen wires and other serious damage in the vicinity of school buildings. If an individual school (in a yellow area) is still experiencing a particular local issue relating to the storm the Board of Management can make a decision to remain closed for tomorrow. All schools should keep up-to-date with the current weather warnings which are carried on all …

AS THE weather warning for Clare is updated to Status Red, authorities are appealing to the public to stay safe and take precautions around power and travel. Clare County Council is once again reminding members of the public to stay at home and avoid all travel as the Status Red wind warning for Clare comes into effect from 16:00 today, Tuesday, December 7, until 01:00 on Wednesday, December 8. Met Éireann has advised that due to Storm Barra, north-westerly winds will reach mean speeds in excess of 80km/h with severe or damaging gusts in excess of 130km/h. Due to a combination of high waves, storm surge and high tide, coastal flooding is expected and people should stay away from all coastal areas. Keep your mobile phone charged as disruption to power and travel are likely. The public are warned electricity wires are always live, never approach. If you see fallen or damaged wires, keep clear and phone ESB Networks immediately …

ESB Networks has stated it may take some time to tackle potential power outages later in the afternoon and evening with weather conditions in Clare set to worsen significantly. Crews from the company have already been at work in the Banner county tackling outages in Kilkee, Kilrush and Cratloe. All three areas are suffering ongoing issues. A statement from the company said, “All internal resources are on alert and are responding to electricity outages once it is safe to do so. With a red weather warning in the Southwest in effect until tonight, and Co Clare until 1 am Wednesday morning, this means our crews may not be mobilised on the ground until the worst of the severe weather passes.” Gale force winds associated with Storm Barra, with gusts of over 130 km/h, are continuing to cause damage to the electricity network currently affecting more than 49,000 homes, farms and businesses nationwide. The damage is mainly attributable to fallen trees …

A SPOKESPERSON for Shannon Airport confirmed that two Ryanair flights due to land at Cork Airport this morning diverted to Shannon Airport. Flight FR901 from Stansted to Cork and FR3738 from Birmingham to Cork diverted to Shannon, both landing safely at a 9.10am and 11.15am respectively. Passengers from Stansted were transferred by bus to Cork and transfer arrangements are awaited for Birmingham passengers. “The Ryanair Shannon to Gatwick service took off on schedule at 10.55am, an earlier flight from Shannon to Tenerife took off at 7.21am. Aer Lingus services from and to Heathrow Airport scheduled for later this afternoon (EI 385 and EI386) have been cancelled due to the expected severity of storm Barra,” said the spokesperson. “There have been no further confirmed flight cancellations yet, and we are awaiting updates from our airlines. However, as a status red weather warning for County Clare is due to come into effect at 4.00pm today, we strongly advise intending passengers to check …

WITH Storm Barra expected to make its presence felt increasingly throughout the day, a wide range of services in Clare have been cancelled or curtailed. ESB Networks has been tackling power outages in the county from early this morning with a large disruption in Kilkee largely dealt with. With conditions set to worsen however, the company has issued a warning about its capacity to address faults straight away. A statement from the company said, “All internal resources are on alert and are responding to electricity outages once it is safe to do so. With a red weather warning in the Southwest in effect until tonight, and Co Clare until 1 am Wednesday morning, this means our crews may not be mobilised on the ground until the worst of the severe weather passes.” There was a loss of power in Kilkee from 6.30am. Crews from ESB Network addressed the issue and by 12pm, power had been restored to most areas in …