Seven counties – Kerry, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal – under a Status Orange weather alert from 10am until 8pmStatus Yellow wind and rain warning for rest of countryMultiple GAA county finals postponedGalway City Council closes multiple coastal roads; warns businesses of flooding
While winds left thousands across Munster, Connacht and Ulster without power, heavy rainfall and high tides failed to inflict the significant property damage that was feared in Cork, Galway and other flood-prone areas.
Ashley – the first named storm of the autumn – peaked in the late afternoon with Galway, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Leitrim and Donegal bearing the brunt of the Atlantic storm.
Met Éireann warned that wind gusts could reach 130km/h in exposed coastal areas as Storm Ashley dramatically strengthened as it approached Ireland’s south west and western coasts.
A major weather alert was also issued in Northern Ireland and Scotland – with the UK Met Office warning that wind gusts in exposed parts of north western Scotland could reach 140km/h-plus.
People struggle to walk in the wind on the promenade in Salthill, Galway, as a Met Eireann orange alert for Kerry, Leitrim, Sligo, Clare, Donegal, Mayo and Galway came into effect at 10am on Sunday and will be in place to 8pm as Storm Ashley sweeps across the island of Ireland. Brian Lawless/PA Wire
Seven counties – Kerry, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal – were under a Status Orange weather alert from 10am until 8pm.
A Status Yellow rain and wind warning was in place for other counties – with heavy rainfall predicted for Cork, Kerry, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow and Waterford.
That alert will remain in place until 9am on Monday.
Power outages
However, hundreds were without power in parts of Munster from early on Sunday morning.
Thousands more lost power as Storm Ashley swept across north Munster and through Connacht and Ulster with fallen trees and flying debris damaging supply networks.
Dozens of outages were reported in Clare, Kerry, Cork, Roscommon, Galway, Mayo, Limerick, Longford, Offaly and Donegal.
There were multiple storm-related faults in Cork with one of the biggest outages reported in Fermoy where almost 2,000 customers lost power.
ESB repair crews were on standby nationwide.
However, crews were only able to commence network repairs once it was safe to do so.
Almost 1,200 homes were without power, most in the Munster area, from 9am.
But this number soared as damaging gusts from Storm Ashley swept across the south west and west.
Flight disruption
The winds also caused travel disruption with those planning on flying from Shannon, Kerry, Cork and Dublin Airports advised to check with their airline and with airport information systems.
A number of flights were cancelled in advance of the storm’s arrival.
A DAA spokesperson confirmed the storm is having “an impact on flight operations throughout Ireland and the UK today”.
“Winds are forecast to remain strong throughout the afternoon and evening, which could cause further impact,” they said in a statement.
Passengers are advised to seek updates regarding their flights directly with their airlines.
Flights to parts of Scotland may also be impacted by the weather.
Because of the weather alert, a number of major attractions and sporting events across Ireland have closed for public safety reasons.
Matches cancelled
Many GAA matches in Status Orange areas have been postponed.
Senior football finals in Fermanagh, Longford, Tyrone and Wicklow set for today will not go ahead.
Both the Gardaí and Road Safety Authority (RSA) have urged people to travel with care – and only to undertake journeys in areas covered by the Status Orange alert if it is absolutely necessary to do so.
Water Safety Ireland urged people not to approach exposed coastal areas given the threat posed by the high winds and strong seas.
People have also been warned that the heavy rainfall could turn many small streams into raging torrents and to stay away from streams, rivers and lakes.
Rainfall is the cause of major concern in Cork which has been under a five day flood warning because of high astronomical tides.
Flooding fears
There were also flood concerns in Galway where the combination of heavy rainfall, a storm surge and high tides posed a particular threat.
Galway Co Council closed a number of low lying coastal roads with sandbags and flood defence measures being deployed.
Particular concern was focused around high tide on Sunday night.
A five day flood warning was issued as Cork harbour was the subject of high astronomical spring tides until October 20.
Low-lying streets will be vulnerable to spot flooding as a strong tidal surge is forecast.
A flood defence barrier in Galway city centre, as a Met Eireann orange alert for Kerry, Leitrim, Sligo, Clare, Donegal, Mayo and Galway came into effect at 10am on Sunday and will be in place to 8pm as Storm Ashley sweeps across the island of Ireland. Brian Lawless/PA Wire
The areas most at risk are Morrison’s Quay, Fr. Mathew Quay, Fr. Mathew Street, Union Quay, Trinity Bridge, South Terrace, Rutland Street, Sawmill Street, Crosses Green, Sharman Crawford St, Wandesford Quay, South Mall (particularly the southern side), Kyrls Quay, Lavitts Quay, Lapps Quay, Proby’s Quay, French’s Quay and Sullivan’s Quay.
Flood risk will be at high tides which vary between 5am/7.58am and 5.28pm/8.20pm.
Motorists have also been urged not to leave cars parked in areas known to be prone to flooding and water pooling.
There were also flooding concerns in Bantry which was hit by torrential rainfall two weeks ago.
However, no major property damage was reported after high tide on Sunday morning.
The National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management (NDFEM) also advised the public to stay away from coastal areas throughout the day.
The warning followed a meeting yesterday morning between the NDFEM, Met Éireann and various other stakeholders to review updates in relation to the current weather warnings in place for Storm Ashley.
NDFEM said it will continue to liaise with Met Éireann and is monitoring the situation.
Keith Leonard, National Director of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management, said: “Local Authority Severe Weather Assessment Teams are continuing to monitor conditions locally.
“With potential for tidal flooding in coastal areas, especially in Southern and Western counties, surface flooding in urban locations is also possible and Local Authorities have their emergency response teams in place, ready to respond where and when necessary.
“The public also have their own part to play. I would absolutely urge everyone to stay away from all coastal areas during this period and to heed the advice from the Irish Coast Guard to ‘Stay Back, Stay High, Stay Dry’.
“As dangerous travelling conditions are also possible, road users should pay particular attention to the risk posed by fallen trees and flying debris.”
