Storm Barra: Orange Alert expires but Met Eireann warns storm has not passed

A Status Orange wind warning is now in place for co Meath as Storm Barra begins to batter the country.

Similar alerts also came into effect for Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Mayo, Wexford, Dublin, Louth, Wicklow and East Meath.

We will update this page throughout the morning and afternoon on latest developments.

At a Glance

- Simonstown vaccination Centre closed

- Major power and water outages in Slane

- Flooding expected in Drogheda as high tide approaches

- Trees down in several parts of the county

- Winds across Midlands expected to escalate this evening

*****

4pm

3pm

2pm:

Meath County Council Update:

UPDATE 2PM, 7 DECEMBER 2021

The following roads have been cleared:

✔️ Colpe East, Bettystown

✔️ Garra Road in Mornington

✔️ Julianstown to Bellewstown Road

✔️ Dunsany Dunshaughlin Road

✔️ Rock Road, Trim on the Laracor side

✔️ Baconstown/Rathmolyon Road

✔️ Dunshaughlin to Ratoath Road

✔️ Traffic lights Slane – ESB power restored- Traffic lights are working.

1pm:

A decision on extending school closures into tomorrow (Wednesday) is expected to be made by 6pm this evening.

The Orange Alert for Meath has now expired and is now at Status Yellow level.

Met Eireann forecaster Gerry Murphy says counties in the Midlands may see an intensification of winds later this evening.

12pm

ESB Networks reporting that 509 households and premises in Slane have had their power restored. Similarly it's reported that 40 customers in Julianstown have had power restored after an outage.

23 customers in the Dunfirth area close to Kilcock are currently without electricity and have an estimated restoration time from ESB Networks of 5.15pm.

11.15am

ESB networks reporting faults affecting up to 15 homes/premises in Greenogue, Ashbourne and 18 homes/premises Julianstown

11.10am

Slane residents now without power and water

Irish Water and Meath County Council advise customers in Beauparc, Fennor Slane and surrounding areas of disruption until 11:00pm due to an ESB outage

Irish Water, working in partnership with Meath County Council, advises customers in Beauparc, Fennor Slane and surrounding areas of disruption to supply today, Tuesday 7 December, due to an ESB outage. While works are ongoing customers in Beauparc, Dollardstown, Cullen, Painestown, Ardmulchan, Yellow Furze, Seneschalstown, Haystown, Carnuff Little, Thurstianstown, Fennor and Slane may experience temporary low water pressure and/or outages until 11:00pm tonight.

"It may take 2-3 hours for normal water supply to return to all customers but it is important to continue to follow the HSE guidance on hand-washing.

Michael Cunniffe, Irish Water, said, “Irish Water and Meath County Council understands the inconvenience caused and thanks customers for their patience while we work to restore normal supply to impacted customers. Irish Water and Meath County Council regret any inconvenience caused.”

Our customer care team is available to help 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For further updates please see the Irish Water website www.water.ie. For updates on Storm Barra please visit www.gov.ie/stormbarra/.

Irish Water continues to work at this time with our Local Authority partners, contractors and others to safeguard the health and well-being of both staff and the public and to ensure the continuity of critical drinking water and wastewater services. Irish Water would like to remind people to follow the HSE COVID-19 advice and ensure frequent handwashing.

11am

From Meath County Council

UPDATE 11AM, 7 DECEMBER 2021 - below being addressed by crews:

Tree down, Colpe East, Bettystown

Tree down at Dunsany Dunshaughlin Road

Tree down on the Rock Road, Trim on the Laracor side

Trees down on Garra Road in Mornington. Please don’t approach, reports of power lines down with them.

Tree down on the the Julianstown to Bellewstown Road. Please don’t approach, reports of power lines down with them.

10.15am

From Meath County Council

UPDATE 10AM, 7 DECEMBER 2021 - below being addressed by crews:

Tree down and blocking the Baconstown/Rathmoylan Road.

Traffic lights out in Slane due to power cut.

Tree down, Hill of Tara

Tree Branches on Road:

Dunshaughlin to Ratoath Road – being addressed by crews

Tree down:

Ashbourne Robertstown Road – being addressed by crews

Watch out for debris, fallen trees, or slippery conditions today.

Please report any issues when safe to do so:

During office hours: to customerservice@meathcoco.ie,

046 909 7000, or social media channels

Outside Office Hours Emergency Number: 1890 445 335

10.00

9.40am

9.30am:

The View from the offices of the Meath Chronicle in Navan

9.15am

ESB Networks reporting that 1,038 Customers are affected loss of supply. "We are currently working to repair a fault affecting your premises and will restore power as quickly as possible."

9am

HSE confirms that On Tuesday 7 December the following will be closed/cancelled:

COVID-19 vaccination centre - Simonstown

8.45am

ESB Networks map showing multiple outages across the country. At 8.30am, there were n reports of problems in Meath.

8am

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Garda Superintendent Liam Geraghty urged everyone to exercise caution today, adding that people have died during similar weather events in the past.

"The message we are trying to get out is very, very simple and very, very clear. This is a potentially dangerous weather event," he said

"In counties with a red warning, the message is stay at home and stay indoors. In orange warning counties, stay at home unless absolutely necessary."

The Coast Guard is appealing to all mariners and coastal communities to be mindful of the severe weather warnings.Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Garda Superintendent Liam Geraghty urged everyone to exercise caution today, adding that people have died during similar weather events in the past.

"The message we are trying to get out is very, very simple and very, very clear. This is a potentially dangerous weather event," he said

"In counties with a red warning, the message is stay at home and stay indoors. In orange warning counties, stay at home unless absolutely necessary."

The Coast Guard is appealing to all mariners and coastal communities to be mindful of the severe weather warnings.

6am

After making landfall this morning, Storm Barra has caused some flooding in the south and has already left at least 12,000 homes and businesses without power.

A Status Red wind warning for Cork and Kerry has been active from 6am, while a similar warning for Clare will be in place from 4pm.

In all three counties, wind speeds in excess of 80 km/h with severe or damaging gusts in excess of 130km/h have been forecast by Met Éireann.

The weather warnings will be in place until 9pm tonight, when these counties will enter a Status Orange wind warning, which will remain in place until 6am tomorrow morning.