Updates:
Thursday, 11.50am – Power has been restored to the majority of customers in Clare affected by outages caused by Storm Gerrit.
A small number of homes in the Miltown Malbay area remain without electricity (as of 12.50pm)
Thursday, 9.30am – Several hundred homes remain without power across the county this morning.
ESB crews are working to restore electricity to homes and businesses.
While power has been restored to many areas affected by the overnight thunderstorms and high winds, some customers could be waiting until later this morning or afternoon to have their electricity restored.
Click here to for updates on outages in your area.
Thursday, 3.45am – Around 135 customers have been left without electricity follow a severe thunderstorm earlier this morning.
111 homes in the Spancil Hill area and another 24 in Ruan are affected.
Wednesday, 11.12pm – Power has been restored to all affected customers in North Clare.
*311 customers in the Ballyvaskin area of Miltown Malbay have now had their power restored.
A further 466 customers in the Moy and Moybeg areas have also had their electricity reconnected.
It’s understood that a homeheating tank was struck by lighting in the Ardnaculla area of Ennistymon. No one was injured in the incident.
*Almost a thousand customers have suffered disruption to their power supply in North Clare this evening.
Thunderstorms have been reported across Clare as Storm Gerrit continues to make its presence felt here.
Around 950 homes and businesses have been left without electricity in the Ennistymon area while a further 114 customers in the Miltown Malbay area are affected.
Power is expected to be restored to all areas between 10.30pm and 11.45pm this evening.
*High winds at Cork Airport have forced some flights to divert to Shannon and Dublin Airports.
Winds at Cork have been gusting up to 45 knots (84 kilometres per hour). Flight FR-7726 flew a holding pattern north of the airport for around 30 minutes before the crew opted to divert to Shannon.
Ryanair flight FR-1401 from Tenerife to Cork and FR-3470 from Edinburgh to Cork have also diverted to Shannon.
A KLM flight from Amsterdam to Cork diverted to Dublin Airport.
*Met Éireann has upgraded its original low level (Status Yellow) wind warning for Clare to the more ‘dangerous and disruptive’ Status Orange.
Forecasters are warning of strong to gale force westerly winds, coupled with spring tides while coastal flooding is also likely.
The Status Orange warning for Clare and Galway will come into effect at 6.00pm today (Wednesday) and remain in place until 6.00am on Thursday.
At midnight on Thursday, a Status Yellow – Wind and Rain warning will affect several counties including Clare and remain in place until 6.00am on Friday.
Southwest to west winds will be strong and gusty at times. A combination of spring tides, large waves and strong winds may result in some coastal flooding. Squally showers may lead to localised flooding.
Clare County Council is advising members of the public to exercise caution.
The public are advised to stay away from coastal areas during this period. The Irish Coast Guard are appealing to people to “Stay Back, Stay High, Stay Dry”.
Strong winds can make driving conditions hazardous, especially for the more vulnerable road users, e.g. cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists and high sided vehicles. Road users should pay particular attention to the risk posed by fallen trees and flying debris.
Never drive through flooded roads, the depth of the water can be deceiving.
There are particular risks during storms on high ground and people are asked to avoid being outdoors at such locations.
A spokesperson for the local authority said: “Clare County Council will be monitoring the situation for any changes in the weather forecast. Please check Met Éireann for updates.”
Meanwhile, a Status Orange – Storm warning has been issued for coastal areas from Wicklow Head to Roche’s Point to Loop Head to Slyne Head and on the Irish Sea South of Anglesey.
Southwest winds will possibly reach storm force 10.
*The Status Yellow Wind Warning for Clare has been extended to 4.00pm on Thursday.
Met Éireann says southwest winds veering westerly will be strong and gusty at times. A combination of spring tides, large waves and strong winds may result in some coastal flooding.
*County Galway has been placed under Status Orange Wind Warning for Wednesday and Thursday.
There are concerns about potential flooding in the Salthill area of the city in particular.
Clare also remains at risk of having its Status Yellow alert being upgraded to Orange.
*Cork and Kerry have now been placed under Status Orange rainfall warnings.
Further updates are expected and an extension of the Status Orange to other counties is possible.
Met Éireann has upgraded and extended a Status Yellow weather warning originally issued for several counties including Clare and associated with Storm Gerrit, the seventh of the year so far.
The original rain warning has been upgraded to a wind and rain alert will affect the entire country.
The weather service is warning of heavy rain overnight (Tuesday), followed by heavy showers tomorrow (Wednesday), may lead to localised flooding.
There will also be strong southerly winds overnight, veering southwesterly tomorrow, which, in conjunction with spring tides, may lead to coastal flooding.
The warning will still come into effect at 8.00pm this evening (Tuesday) but remain in place for an additional 18 hours, until midnight on Thursday.
Dry across most areas today for daylight hours with just light breezes
Wet & windy weather will slowly extend to remaining areas during the evening & early in the night 🌧️🍃
Warning➡️https://t.co/Xg3aMJlyuSHighs of 4 to 8C pic.twitter.com/RTg4rZUqT7
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 26, 2023
Today (St. Stephen’s Day) will be a rather cold day with spells of sunshine. Dry for much of daylight hours with just light breezes. Sunshine will turn hazier though with rain arriving through the afternoon. Wet and windy weather will slowly extend to remaining areas during the evening. Some surface water flooding is possible. Highest afternoon temperatures of 5 to 8 degrees. Southeasterly winds will freshen with the arrival of the rain later.
Tonight
Wet and very windy on Tuesday night with outbreaks of rain, heavy at times. Lowest temperatures of 3 to 6 degrees occurring early in the night will rapidly rise to values of 7 to 10 degrees by dawn on Wednesday. Strong to gale force southeast winds.
Tomorrow
A windy day on Wednesday with early rain clearing to bright spells and widespread squally showers. Turning very windy later in the day. Maximum temperatures of 7 to 10 degrees in strong southwest winds.
Meanwhile, a Status Yellow – Gale Warning has been issued for all coasts of Ireland.
Southeast winds will reach gale force 8 on all Irish coastal waters and on the Irish Sea.
The warning will be valid from 7.00pm on Tuesday until midday on Wednesday.
