1 week Ago By Rebecca Fisher
With thousands still without power or water in the wake of Storm Eowyn, Ireland braces itself for another potentially devastating weather event. The Spanish Met Office has officially named Storm Herminia, which is set to bring more wet and windy conditions to Ireland on Sunday and Monday. While it is not expected to be as severe as Eowyn, which saw Ireland hit with record-breaking winds, forecasters are warning of additional strong gusts.
Irish weather expert Alan O’Reilly from Carlow Weather has advised the public that while we can expect unsettled conditions, the worst of Storm Herminia will remain offshore. He said: ‘A few questions about Storm Herminia. So the Spanish Met Service have named the storm and it is the system that will bring us wet and windy weather Sunday and Monday as I mentioned in my last update.
‘The worst of the storm will stay offshore and it won’t be near as strong as today’s storm but will bring strong gusts and especially into Southern areas. I’m sure some will try and hype it to get more clicks after today’s storm but try not to worry.’ Anticipating the weather event, Met Eireann today issued status yellow wind & rain warnings nationwide.
A Status Yellow rain warning will come into effect for Carlow, Kilkenny, Wicklow, Cork, Kerry, Tipperary and Waterford from 5am on Sunday until 5pm. A Status Yellow wind warning has been issued for Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Munster, Galway, Mayo and Sligo and will come into effect from 6am on Sunday to 6pm. There is also a Status Yellow wind warning for Cork, Kerry and Waterford from 11pm on Sunday until 6am on Monday Met Eireann also said of Sunday: ‘It’ll become wet and windy on Sunday, with a band of rain gradually spreading northeastwards through the morning and afternoon, some of it heavy and possibly thundery.
‘The rain will clear northeastwards later, but scattered showers will follow and with more persistent and heavy rain likely to move into the south and southeast in the evening. ‘Highest temperatures of 6C to 10C in strong and gusty southeasterly winds, reaching gale force for a time in some coastal parts, decreasing mostly moderate southerly away from the west coast later in the day.’ ⚠️The following status yellow wind & rain warnings have been issued.
⚠️ These warnings commence tomorrow, Sunday 26/01/25, at varied times. Please see the effected counties and validity times below. To stay updated, please visit: https://t.
co/3041XHjphi pic.twitter.com/SRuZnthAmS Moving into Monday, it continued: ‘Monday will be rather windy with showers or longer spells of rain, some of it heavy with the chance of some isolated thunderstorms.
There’ll be some dry and bright spells at times too. Highest temperatures of 4C to 9C in fresh to strong and gusty southerly winds, reaching near gale to gale force in some coastal parts of the south and west. ‘Monday night will bring some clear spells but further showers or longer spells of rain too.
Lowest temperatures of 2C to 7C with winds becoming cyclonic variable for a time and later becoming mostly moderate to fresh northwesterly.’ Over 760,000 people were without power or water last night in the aftermath of the worst storm Ireland has seen in 80 years. Power was restored to some 140,000 customers yesterday after 768,000 were initially hit, but last night a water supply crisis was escalating.
Uisce Éireann said that 138,000 people were without water last night, with risks to another 750,000 customers potentially being affected. A spokesperson said: ‘The number of people without water is likely to increase as the widespread power outages at treatment plants and pumping stations continue to impact on supplies.’ The areas most affected to date are across Galway, Kerry, Clare, Tipperary, Waterford, Donegal, Longford and Laois.
Newly appointed Taoiseach Micheal Martin said every effort is being made to restore power and water supplies and described the destruction caused as ‘unprecedented’. The Taoiseach thanked emergency crews and responders working to restore power and clear roads, and said a huge amount of work is needed in the days ahead to restore electricity, water and communications to hundreds of thousands of people. ‘I’m grateful for the efforts of multiple state agencies to help those most in need, and we understand how difficult it is for homes and businesses across the island,’ he said.
‘This is a whole of Government effort including ESB, EirGrid, Irish Water, Local Authorities, the Defence Forces, Civil Defence, the NPWS, Coillte and others. ‘I’ve been briefed by the chair of the National Emergency Co-ordination Group, which will meet again today, and every effort is being made to get high voltage transmission lines up and running, homes reconnected and water supplies secured. ‘My Government will fully assess the situation in the coming days to see what supports we can offer people and businesses caught up in the aftermath of this storm.
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