Met Éireann is advising extreme caution in Clare coastal communities as storm Ali passes over the country
The strongest gust recorded this morning by Met Eireann’s monitoring station at Shannon Airport was 87 kilometres per hour, but wind conditions have been even stronger in coastal areas.
Heavy rain is also causing poor visibility on roads and there’s warngings of treacherous conditions and extrememly high waves along the Atlantic coast.
Speaking to Clare FM, Met Éireann forecaster Evelyn Cusack has this advice for those living in coastal areas:
The storm has made an impact on electricity services locally.
The ESB is reporting a fault in the Ennistymon area, which is affecting 676 premises, while earlier there was a seperate fault in the Whitegate, Mountshannon and Scariff areas but crews have since restored power.
Bus Éireann has cancelled a number of services on account of the weather – route 333 from Doonbeg to Ennis has been cancelled and Route 350 from Doolin to Ennis will not operate via the Cliffs of Moher.
St Joeseph’s Secondary School, in Spanish Point is closed on account of the weather. Parents have been notified by text and any students that have already been dropped off will be supervised until parents can collect them.
An orange weather warning remains in place until one o’clock this afternoon, while a yellow warning is in place until five o’clock this evening.
Clare County Council is urging motorists to drive with extreme caution throughout the day, and Senior Engineer John Leahy says while this storm won’t be as damaging as some of those to hit the county in the past, it will still have an impact:
