Heavy rains, high winds

Heavy rains, high winds batter Ireland

The heavy rain and strong winds which battered the country early today, causing hazardous driving conditions in certain parts and forcing the cancellation of fast ferries has eased significantly this evening.

A major clean-up operation got under way in Galway this mornin after flash-flooding caused serious disruption yesterday.

Flooding affected roads in the docks and Salthill area, and several people at the Westlife concern in Pearse Stadium had to receive medical treatment due to early signs of hypothermia.

Many businesses were forced to close and the fire service dealt with around 50 callouts yesterday evening.

“It was so torrential the rain yesterday evening... I haven’t any details on damage at this stage but we will be assessing it,” Galway City Mayor Tom Costello said. “It’s (the weather) not bad at the moment but we are fearing the worst."

The Corrandulla Agricultural Show was cancelled today due to the weather conditions.

Many areas of the country are experiencing heavy rainfall, while gusts of wind of up to 120km/h have been recorded in some coastal areas.

Drivers are being warned to exercise caution on the roads. Fallen trees have caused disruption and delays on many routes.

A number of ferry sailings across the Irish Sea were cancelled today due to the bad weather.

Met Éireann issued both a gale warning and small craft warning, with forecasters predicting winds to reach Force Six tonight on coastal waters.

However, brighter weather will gradually extend countrywide during the afternoon and evening. The stormy weather is expected to die out overnight with the clouds breaking tomorrow to give a mainly dry and calm day, with sunny spells and well scattered showers.

The weather is to remain unsettled for most of the week

Hundreds of Eircom customers in both Co Roscommon and Co Mayo were hit with power outages as a result of the storm. A spokesman said about 300 households were affected in Creggs from last night but service was restored at around 10am today.

About 200 customers are also affected in Co Mayo and crews were working to repair the damage.