Clare residents are being urged to prepare for extremely stormy conditions that are forecast for this coming Monday.
Met Éireann has issued its highest level weather alert ahead of the arrival of ex-hurricane Ophelia.
Already, all school bus services have been cancelled.
A storm warning has been issued for all of Clare by the County Council, ahead of Monday’s expected severe weather conditions.
This is after Met Éireann issued their highest level warning, a Status Red alert, for Hurricane Ophelia.
Our latest satellite images of hurricane #Ophelia
Latest warnings for Ireland available here:https://t.co/LIC2EnKayX pic.twitter.com/nAPmfDVX8q— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) October 14, 2017
This applies to Clare, and other coastal counties from Cork to Mayo – a status orange alert is in place for the rest of the country, as winds will be less severe inland.
Currently in the Atlantic, the storm is tracking towards Ireland and is set to bring sustained winds of over 80 kilometres per hour and gusts of over 130 kilometres per hour.
These powerful winds could bring structural damage, and flooding is also a concern with sea levels currently high.
Here in Clare, the Council is urging land, home and business owners, particularly those in low-lying coastal areas, to take precautionary steps in light of this.
The local authority will issue updates across the weekend.
Already, it’s been confirmed that some services will be impacted as Bus Éireann has said its school bus services won’t operate in areas affected by the red warning, including Clare.
In a statement, the company says this is in line with policy for such predicted weather events.
It’s likely that a number of schools will also close.
The Status Red warning is in place from 9 a.m. Monday morning until the early hours of Tuesday, but there is still uncertainty as to the exact path that the storm will follow.
