Heavy rain and strong winds to continue to batter west coast

FELLED The strong winds saw a tree on the South Mall snap in two yesterday (Monday) and fall into the Mall River. No one was injured.?Pic: Frank Dolan

Heavy rain and strong winds to continue to batter west coast


Anton McNulty
antonmcnulty@mayonews.ie

People living in coastal areas have been warned to exercise caution when near the sea after Met Éireann issued a gale warning for the west coast, with gusts of up to 120km per hour forecast.
The west coast was battered by wind and rain over the weekend with 30.6mm of rain falling in Claremorris on Saturday and gusts of 96km per hour recorded in Belmullet on Sunday. A gale warning was issued by Met Éireann yesterday afternoon, with strong to gale force, southerly winds expected to veer southwest to west, gusting to between 90 and 120 km per hour.
Widespread rain is forecast for this morning (Tuesday), accompanied by strong and gusty southerly winds, with speeds expected to reach force seven to gale force eight this afternoon.
The outlook for the rest of the week will not see much of an improvement, with heavy rain expected to fall on Wednesday evening, accompanied by very strong southwest winds. The rain is forecast to gradually clear on Thursday afternoon, but it will feel cold with highs of 5 to 8 degrees.
Forecasters expect ‘exceptionally high waves’, possibly as high as nine metres along the Atlantic coast. There is a threat of coastal flooding, particularly at high tide.
The Road Safety Authority said a combination of high tides, storm surges and winds may result in a risk of localised flooding inland. It has urged drivers to drive carefully in wet and windy conditions – specifically, to allow extra space between cars, to watch for falling debris and cross winds, to be aware of aquaplaning and to drive with dipped headlights.
Many areas across the county also lost electricity power at some stage on Monday due to the strong winds.

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