By Vivienne Clarke
The head of forecasting with Met Éireann, Evelyn Cusack has warned that as Storm Ellen approaches orange weather alerts could be issued anywhere across the country.
At present there are orange weather warnings in place for Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Waterford, while the rest of the country has been issued with a status yellow wind warning for Wednesday night and throughout Thursday.
Ms Cusack said that Storm Ellen will hit Kerry and the south-west of Ireland on Wednesday evening and then head up along the west coast and possibly pass across the remainder of the country over night.
The worst of the winds will be during the night hours, she said, but there could be damage as this is the time of the year when trees are in full leaf and it is also one of the wettest months.
Ms Cusack added that while the worst of the winds should have passed over the country on Wednesday night, there would still be gales and high seas on Thursday and Friday.
“While the storm itself may pass tonight, you're in for a very, very poor unseasonable weather and a very challenging few days.”
The nationwide yellow alert could escalate to orange alerts because of the uncertainty associated with the storm, she said. “So all areas really have to be on alert for orange level impacts tonight.”
Ms Cusack also warned of flooding, both in coastal areas, and also from rivers and in inland areas. There could be high waves on lakes, she said and she advised that people should not be out hill-walking.
