High winds, snow and rain for next few days.
The National Coordination Group re-convened today to discuss the on-going severe weather situation. On the agenda was the threat posed by snow, storms, high winds, rising rivers and to assess the potential impact of the latest storms on infrastructure and communities.
Met Éireann has advised that the current unsettled and changeable spell will continue. In addition to yesterday’s snow, especially in the north-west, already today we have witnessed very severe winds and some damaging gusts, over Munster, South Connacht & South Leinster. They have issued a status Orange wind alert for Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Wicklow and Meath which will bring severe gusts and may cause disruption, especially in Dublin and surrounding areas. This should ease later in the evening after 19.00 hrs.
Tomorrow will see further showers of snow and rain, and Friday will see very heavy rain in the Cork, Waterford and Wexford region. This additional rainfall will serve to top up the already near capacity of our rivers and still poses a risk, which is being managed by the relevant agencies and local authorities.
The emergency services, local authority workers & state agencies remain on alert to respond as reports of damage are coming in. The ESB continue to monitor the levels on the rivers Liffey, Lee and Shannon and discharges are being managed in conjunction with local authorities.
The public have been reminded to continue to follow the weather warnings and to heed the safety messages of the authorities. All road users are advised to exercise extreme caution particularly on motorways. There is also danger from fallen trees on roadways.
The National Co-ordination Group will continue to monitor the situation closely in conjunction with the local authorities.
ENDS
Weather Warnings are presented in three categories:
A. STATUS YELLOW - Weather Alert - Be Aware
The concept behind YELLOW level weather alerts is to notify those who are at risk because of their location and/or activity, and to allow them to take preventative action. It is implicit that YELLOW level weather alerts are for weather conditions that do not pose an immediate threat to the general population, but only to those exposed to risk by nature of their location and/or activity.
B. STATUS ORANGE - Weather Warning - Be Prepared
This category of ORANGE level weather warnings is for weather conditions which have the capacity to impact significantly on people in the affected areas. The issue of an Orange level weather warning implies that all recipients in the affected areas should prepare themselves in an appropriate way for the anticipated conditions.
C. STATUS RED - Severe Weather Warning - Take Action
The issue of RED level severe weather warnings should be a comparatively rare event and implies that recipients take action to protect themselves and/or their properties; this could be by moving their families out of the danger zone temporarily; by staying indoors; or by other specific actions aimed at mitigating the effects of the weather conditions.