orla orla

Unfortunately, we’re kicking things off with bad new this morning – in the form of a number of severe weather warnings from Met Éireann as Storm Jake hits Ireland.

• Orange: Wind warning for coastal fringes of the north, west and south
• Yellow: Wind warning for Ireland
• Yellow: Snow-ice warning for Connacht, Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal

You can read more detail about the warnings here.

Unsurprisingly, due to the harsh weather conditions, a number of trees have fallen in various parts of the country. AA Roadwatch is reporting trees down in the following locations:

• Ballinamore/Killashandra Road (R199) before Garadice Lake in Leitrim;
• Athboy/Trim Road (R154) near the turn-off for Rathcarran in Meath;
• Arden Road (R421) out of Tullamore before the N52 Tullamore Bypass in Offaly;
• N84 Headford/Ballinrobe Road between Shrule and Kilmaine at 100 Acres in Mayo;
• N83 Tuam/Dunmore Road at the Halfway House in Galway;
• Dooradoyle Road near Ballyclough in Limerick.

More details can be read on AA Roadwatch’s website.

Dublin City Council’s Traffic Management Centre is reporting that a collision on Pearse Street inbound at Erne Street Junction is causing delays on approach.

Also in the capital, AA Roadwatch is reporting that trees are down and electricity wires have fallen in certain areas.

Meanwhile, Irish Rail has said there is a 25 minute delay on the 6.15am Cork-Heuston route due to a “weather-related level crossing problem”.

Live Drive says the N11 is very busy already this morning, while there are reports of debris on the M50.

Commuting this morning? DCC’s Traffic Management Centre has this advice:

A collision has been cleared from Pearse Street inbound in Dublin, with DCC saying there are no delays.

We have more detail on earlier reports of debris on the M50, AA Roadwatch says the area affected is between between J13 Sandyford & J12 Firhouse.

Gardaí have issued this warning for motorists as Storm Jake’s high winds have caused fallen trees in several areas.

AA Roadwatch has information on fallen trees throughout the country here.

How is traffic where you are? Let us know by tweeting @thejournal_ie or emailing tips@thejournal.ie – but only if it’s safe to do so.

Election stories are still dominating the news this morning – both at home and abroad.

A general election recount in Longford-Westmeath will resume at 2.30pm, after another late night.

Fine Gael’s James Bannon was granted a recount on Monday night as he attempts to avert his elimination.

Meanwhile in the US, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton took a giant step toward securing the White House nominations of their parties, thumping rivals in a slew of Super Tuesday primaries.

PA Images PA Images

Today’s general mood:

Gphy.com Gphy.com

Here’s an overview of the weather, via Met Éireann:

Storm Jake will continue to lead to gale force winds this morning. Organised bands of heavy showers will merge to longer spells of rain locally, with wet snow in parts, along with the additional risk of thunder.

Weather warnings are in place Met.ie Met.ie

Snow will accumulate in certain areas, mainly on higher ground. There will be scattered blustery showers this afternoon, mainly of rain or perhaps hail, with some sunny spells developing. Winds will veer northwesterly and will be mostly strong and gusty. Highest temperatures will range from six to nine degrees Celsius, feeling even colder with an added wind chill effect.

Winds will ease early tonight and showers will fade. There will be a slight to sharp frost, and a risk of ice will set in. It’ll be cold, with lowest temperatures of zero to three degrees Celsius.

AA Roadwatch says there are no further reports of a crash on the M9 Waterford/Dublin Road northbound near J1 on the M7 in Kildare. However, there are delays in Wicklow:

Back to the capital, AA Roadwatch reports that a collision is blocking the N4 Lucan Road off-ramp outbound at J2 Liffey Valley, and emergency services en route.

Meanwhile, Live Drive says traffic lights are out on the R120 at the junctions of Tandy’s Lane and Finn’s Park.

File photo Shutterstock / Lisa S Shutterstock / Lisa S / Lisa S

A collision has also been reported on the North Circular Road at the junction of Berkeley Road. AA Roadwatch has asked drivers to take care in the area.

DCC is reporting delays due to a collision on Ringsend Road inbound at the Barrow Street junction blocking traffic.

Dublin Fire Brigade has flagged that one lane is still open at the off-ramp at Liffey Valley inbound following an earlier collision.

AA Roadwatch is reporting that an earlier collision on the N4 has been cleared.

Need to kill some time on your commute? The DailyEdge has compiled this helpful list of 15 Instagram accounts every animal lover should follow.

AA Roadwatch is reporting that gardaí in Cork are dealing with a crash on the Dunkettle Interchange near the turn-off for the JLT.

Emergency services are dealing with a crash on the N15 Ballyshannon/Donegal Road north of Ballintra in Donegal, according to AA Roadwatch.

Meanwhile, as fallen trees cause issues in several counties, AA Roadwatch has a full breakdown of areas affected here.

Also in Donegal, AA Roadwatch reports that the Harry Blaney Bridge over Mulroy Bay will be closed from 10am until 6pm due to high winds.

Some of the fallen trees reported this morning have been cleared. AA Roadwatch has more information here.

DCC is advising caution if you’re driving on North Wall Quay.

We’re going to wrap up the liveblog for this morning, but we’ll be back tomorrow at 7am. Give yourself extra time if you’re making a journey today.

Stay safe out there!