2018: The year of 10,000 storms.
Truly baffling weather has swept the country in recent weeks and months – featuring everything from snow to storms to sunshine – and it seems that the unorthodox forecasts are going nowhere fast.
A rare mini-twister was spotted in the grey skies of Donegal over the weekend, catching locals and tourists alike by surprise with the sheer size of it.
Luke Harkin, who caught the meteorological wonder on camera, told JOE about what it was like in person.
“We spotted [it] over the weekend in Convoy, County Donegal. We thought it was quite cool as we had never seen anything like it before and no one else in the town seemed to see it.”
Irish twisters are often witnessed following a particularly harsh winter with a number of storms.
While tornadoes are primarily associated with the US, Ireland has experienced a number of them this year due to seasonally unusual weather, with some causing considerable damage.
The biggest recorded tornado in Ireland is believed to have occurred in Nenagh, County Tipperary, on 24 January 1852, when a tornado of T6 force (core winds of up to 180 mph) caused substantial damage.
Donegal was ravaged by storms earlier this year when Storm Hector battered the north and north-west coasts with gusts of 70mph – 125km/h. Donegal was the worst affected county as almost 1,000 homes and businesses went without power.
However, they do have this to rely on… So there’s something.
Cheers to Luke Harkin for sending this our way. Got a story for JOE? Fill out our online form here.
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