Storm Ciara isn’t messing around.
And neither is Met Éireann, with the meteorological service hard at work over what has become a very fraught weekend on the weather front.
With a cold spell set to affect the entire country in the week ahead and a string of warnings already in place, a fresh orange warning has been issued as of Sunday evening, with an existing yellow warning extended alongside it.
The new orange warning concerns seven counties; Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare and Kerry.
It is valid from 6am on Monday (10 February) until 8pm that evening.
According to Met Éireann:
“Storm Ciara will continue to produce very strong westerly winds in coastal areas, with mean speeds of 65 – 80 kilometres per hour and gusts generally between 110 and 130 kilometres per hour.”
A combination of Spring Tides and high seas, meanwhile, will result in a significant risk of flooding.
The existing status yellow wind warning concerns the entire country and has now been extended until 8pm on Monday evening.
In addition, a nationwide status yellow snow and ice warning is set to come into effect at midnight on Monday and will be valid until 11.59pm on Tuesday.
In that case, Met Éireann predicts a “bitterly cold” couple of days with a “significant” wind chill factor for company. There should also be a mix of sunny spells and wintry showers, with some areas even experiencing accumulations of snow.
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