LAST UPDATE | 6 Apr
THOUSANDS OF HOMES and businesses around Ireland are still without electricity as Storm Kathleen impacts Ireland.
Around 12,000 premises are currently without electricity, but ESB Networks is working to restore power to customers. At its peak, 34,000 customers were without electricity earlier today.
The largest outages this evening are across Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Laois and Wicklow, but other counties are also affected. People can view the latest updates on the Power Check website.
Gusts reached up to 110km per hour earlier today.
A Status Yellow wind warning is currently in place for the entire country. Met Éireann said conditions will remain windy this evening, with strong and gusty winds expected on the coastlines.
Remaining windy this evening as #StormKathleen tracks to the NW, generating strong & gusty southerly winds & gales on coasts🍃
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) April 6, 2024
⚠️Yellow wind warning for all Ireland valid until 20:00 tonight & for some areas the warning is extended until Sunday⚠️
ℹ️https://t.co/w5QtJ1UyEP pic.twitter.com/2rxUBb47Pt
Transport
All Aer Lingus flights to and from Belfast City Airport today have been cancelled.
Dozens of flights between Ireland and the UK have been cancelled or delayed. People have been advised to contact the relevant airline for up-to-date information.
Some train services to and from Heuston station are also delayed after a large tree fell onto the line near Monasterevin, Co Kildare.
There are also disruptions to the Connolly-Sligo route due to a fallen tree on the line, with bus transfers happening at Mullingar. The latest updates can be read on Irish Rail’s website.
Update: Services are set to resume through Monasterevin. Knock-on delays are expected due to congestion. -AD https://t.co/FGN123pMDx
— Iarnród Éireann (@IrishRail) April 6, 2024
Updated wind warnings
A Status Orange wind warning took effect at 7am in Cork, Kerry and Waterford, but it expired at 2pm.
Another Orange wind warning was in place in Galway and Mayo until 6pm.
The entire country has been under a Status Yellow wind warning since 5am; that is due to remain in place until 8pm. This Yellow wind warning will remain in place for Donegal, Mayo and West Galway until 4pm tomorrow.
A Yellow wind warning for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry will be in place until 10pm today.
The Road Safety Authority has urged road users to take caution if travelling during the storm.
Advice to stay home
Met Éireann forecaster Joanna Donnelly said Storm Kathleen will continue to track slowly northwards over the next 24 hours.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1 earlier today, Donnelly said there is a risk of flooding in coastal areas.
“The ground is very, very saturated so any amount of water falling from the sky is going to possibly have impacts.”
Referencing Teresa Mannion’s famous windswept news report from 2015, Donnelly said: “Don’t make unnecessary journeys. It’s dangerous out there. An Orange level warning says ‘infrequent, dangerous conditions’, so that means it can be dangerous at times.
“If you don’t need to go to the park this afternoon, just stay at home. If you don’t need to go visiting, go shopping, go wherever it is you usually go on a Saturday afternoon, if you don’t need to go, just ride it out the next few hours and stay safe.”
Following the landing of Storm Kathleen and a worsening forecast for tomorrow, it was decided by race management to finish the Irish Sailing Youth Nationals early and abandon the remaining races.
The series, taking place at Royal Cork Yacht Club, benefitted from better conditions on Thursday when four classes managed to take to the water and complete a series.
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