Strong gusts to 130 km/hr will redevelop Thursday after 1500h Mainly Western Counties

M.T. Cranium

Good morning ... in preparing the daily forecast I noted gusts to 71 knots (132 km/hr) at Mace Head at 0600h and wanted to alert readers that there have already been fairly widespread severe gusts at times this morning, and these appear to be spreading east across central Ireland -- gusts may peak in various exposed portions of the west but will reach at least 110 km/hr near the east coast too. (have edited slightly as reports come in)

Also, be aware that near blizzard conditions are likely to develop across higher parts of the north quite soon ... Connacht Airport (Knock) may be included in this ... road travel disruptions are possible across the north at least inland and at elevations above 100m if not more widely at times. These conditions may briefly appear further east and south at times, in a few locations. Other than adding this, please confine discussions of this aspect to the snow alert thread elsewhere.

A second period of very strong winds can be expected in Connacht, west Munster, Ulster and coastal parts of Leinster on Thursday afternoon (north) and evening to overnight (east coast). Further details in my daily forecast. North-northwest winds may gust as high as 130 or 140 km/hr in Antrim and 120 elsewhere in the regions outlined, as this northerly gale to storm force wind event will become very strong down the west coast of Scotland and throughout the Irish Sea region peaking late Thursday or early Friday.

dmc17

It's pretty lively here in Clare at the moment too.

The Peanut

M.T. Cranium wrote: »

Good morning ... in preparing the daily forecast I noted gusts to 71 knots (132 km/hr) at Mace Head at 0600h and wanted to alert readers in Galway that there is some chance of severe gusts at times this morning, possibly in other parts of central Ireland but mainly within 50 km of Galway and some other exposed parts of (county) Galway and Mayo.

Mods, you can merge this thread with the snowfall thread after these winds have subsided. -- MTC

Driving early this morning, there was a few trees down around parts of West Cork and Mallow so the possibility of high winds might catch people focussing on the snow. Careful out there people.

Special Circumstances

dmc17 wrote: »

It's pretty lively here in Clare at the moment too.

Definitely worse than red alert rachel in limerick earlier. Has settled a little right now.

uncle_sam_ie

I'm west of Mallow. It's very gusty now.

sunbabe08

Wasn't expecting this kind of wind down here in cork

Jpmarn

Has being pretty windy near Limerick City. Gusts in gale or strong gale in strength. Hearing about a few trees down all over the country on the radio. Dublin Airport is reporting near sustain gale with storm gusts.

the2hurdys

Very wild here near Tipperaray town not looking forward to driving

clappyhappy

Has been very wild here in west limerick for the past hour/hour and a half. Wasn't expecting this at all.

Storm 10

At around 6-45 am in Galway this morning I thought the roof would go, I recorded a gust of 73mph

M.T. Cranium

Given some of the reports in the thread, I upgraded from level one to level two as of 0755h. Please note my additional comments if you already saw the original post earlier.

Rock Lesnar

Its certainly more windier in the north east this morning compared to ''storm'' Rachel, and more reports of trees down to looking at the AA's twitter page.

Graces7

Thank MT.. my awareness exactly way down here in South Kerry and like many this was unexpected. It is fearsome up here now and we are hunkering in once more.

Graces7

Special Circumstances wrote: »

Definitely worse than red alert rachel in limerick earlier. Has settled a little right now.

It is erratic and gusty.. seems to calm then POW!

jenny rennie

Very gusty In Kilkenny all morning. Have to go out in it too.

Oneiric 3

Peak 10 min mean speed of 26 knots recorded at 5.40 am here. Woke me up and certainly was stronger than I would have expected.

Steopo

Looks like strong winds are with us all the way to Fri. Bit like forgetting to wear sunscreen skiing, we got dazzled by snow & forgot about the wind

leahyl

Wasn't expecting such strong winds this morning - some serious cross winds in Cork City!

Nabber

People are fixated on snow. So i hope no one gets cut out by this. Particularly people in exposed areas.

Supercell

AA-Roadwatch is full of reports of trees down, says it all :-

http://www.theaa.ie/AA/AA-Roadwatch.aspx

MEATH: Emergency services are dealing with a tree down on the N52/ Ardee Rd just outside Carlanstown.

MEATH: A tree is down on the Barrowaddy Road at Rathfeigh. Take care in the area. The council have been notified.

WICKLOW: There's a tree down on the Kilmacanogue/ Roundwood Rd (R755) blocking one lane. The Council has been notified.

KILDARE: There's a tree partially blocking the Kilcullen/ Naas Rd (R448) at Sillothill. The Council has been notified.

TIPPERARY: There's a tree down on the Dundrum/ Cashel Rd (R505) at Ballynahinch. Gardai are at the scene. Take care in the area.

LONGFORD: A fallen tree is in the process of being removed on the Edgeworthstown/ Granard Rd at Lisryan.

Greenmachine

Are we at level 2 again? Thought this was level 1.
When will it start getting warm again, freezing here in my shoebox.

Aerohead

Met Eireann did not see this wind event coming !!!!!!

M.T. Cranium

The current intensity now supports level one alert, but potentially the very strong winds later tomorrow could justify keeping a level two thread title. The focus of this thread should perhaps begin to shift to that potential later tomorrow, as most of the remaining problems today will likely be with damage already sustained (trees to be cleared etc) and ongoing blustery winds gusting to about 110 km/hr which, where they combine with wintry showers, will make for very poor driving conditions.

Tomorrow, after the gradient lets up slightly for a while, there will be a renewed round of very strong gusts and at times these may become storm force in parts of the northwest then later east Ulster down the Irish Sea, possibly also on land in exposed east coast locations. For a change this may not be as severe on some parts of the west coast. Anyway, further management of this thread today will go over to the forum in general as it is my overnight sleep period here now.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Lightening this morning on the east coast. Wind gusts woke me early. A lovely start to the morning

cherryghost

Well I was almost injured.. A bunch of slates falling off a roof in Christchurch started landing at my feet. My heart will never be the same again.

Special Circumstances

Aerohead wrote: »

Met Eireann did not see this wind event coming !!!!!!

I've been critical of their wind alerts in the past but overnight into the morning in limerick was within an acceptable* margin for the yellow alert they issued.

*In my non educated and parochial opinion.

littlemac1980

Jaysus there was some serious wind last night where I am 5 miles north of Limerick city. Crazy noise outside at times. I can't remember if I've ever been woken up by the wind during the night - but I was last night.

corsav6

Some very strong gusts around 6am here in Newport Mayo. It has calmed down a bit since and turned into a typical winters day with plenty of rain and some decent gusts.

Oneiric 3

Just looking at the WV image sequence for this morning, it seems likely that the strong winds this morning may have been associated with a narrow dry slot that followed on from the cold front. This image was taken at 6 am, around the time of the strongest winds. (from Vedur)

Graces7

Thankful it has eased off up here now. South Kerry 400 ft asl

Storm 10

Very windy in Galway now with hail and sleet, temp at 1 degree at rear of house

M.T. Cranium

Have recently re-titled this thread as today's wind gusts are now generally below level one criteria but will ramp up again later Thursday especially in Connacht and Ulster, spreading to parts of west Munster and most of Leinster by evening. Gusts to 130 km/hr will be possible in more exposed coastal areas but I do expect a period of very strong gusts almost nationwide at times tomorrow evening, veering gradually from WNW to NNW. Topography will channel some of these winds so check your local exposure to northwest to assess risk in your location. The cause of this second wave of strong winds will be a polar low dropping south across Britain and while that sounds very cold, in this case the low will cause a slight increase in temperatures during the windy period, widespread snow showers early afternoon may change to more of a sleety mix with rain predominant near sea level as the strong winds develop. It is going to be very nasty over the Irish Sea and Atlantic near north Ulster and Donegal Bay. Force 11 and possibly force 12 warnings are likely around 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. overnight Thursday into Friday.

These very strong winds should ease off by Friday morning and no further wind alerts seem likely although it will stay borderline level one until late into Saturday night in some places (mostly northerly winds Saturday).

YFlyer

I'm stuck here at the university. Wind and rain outside.

Trying to get to the offie without getting soaked for the ole bottle of red.

YFlyer

YFlyer wrote: »

I'm stuck here at the university. Wind and rain outside.

Trying to get to the offie without getting soaked for the ole bottle of red.

Update: Got to Spar with a minute to spare

pauldry

I cant check my exposure to wind as violent gale of 58knots has blown my weather station to pieces . A sad day

M.T. Cranium

The latest guidance tends to shift the strong winds away from east Ulster so I will amend that part, north Antrim is not likely to see damaging gusts but further west from about Donegal Bay to Dublin, these very strong west to northwest winds will develop late afternoon and evening, and will die out after midnight. Peak gusts in exposed areas could hit 120 km/hr.

Temperatures aloft will tend to bottom out mid-day or early afternoon which may mean that snow will become more widespread for a time, then the trend will be towards more rain and less snow when it gets very windy, however, at elevations of higher roads such as the Glenshane Pass, there could be blowing snow during this event.

Graces7

Just had an almighty crack of sudden wind up here,, South Kerry 400 ft asl.. shook the roof ans made my ears pop

Oscar Bravo

Orange wind warning now issued from met eireann

Graces7

Oscar Bravo wrote: »

Orange wind warning now issued from met eireann

They must have heard it too..

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Graces7 wrote: »

They must have heard it too..

Relax, it's for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo and Clare. Not Kerry.

M.T. Cranium

Could a moderator possibly upgrade to level two? Thanks, I was able to edit the thread title but not the level.

Now looking very ominous for this evening in Connacht and west Ulster as a very tight circulation appears to have developed around a 970 mb low dropping south along the outer Hebrides. Buoy K5 near Rockall no longer reports wind speeds but can see a sharp pressure wave signature past three hours and satellite imagery indicates a well-developed northwesterly flow that will hit Donegal Bay around 7 or 8 p.m. with possible gusts to 130 km/hr. This very strong wind event will rapidly sweep inland and through the north central counties to the east coast. Counties from Louth to north Wicklow could see equally strong gusts where not blocked out by higher ground to northwest. It will become very stormy over the Irish Sea around 11 p.m. or midnight.

Updates to follow, buoy M4 should be closely watched as this event will hit there about an hour before reaching the Donegal and Mayo coasts.

Strong level 2 for all regions except possibly east Ulster and Waterford-Carlow-Kilkenny-Laois level 1. Possible localized level 3 conditions in exposed locations. If you're in the main path, assess for level 3 risk by considering topography to your northwest, is there an opening for winds to be funnelled, or are you somewhat sheltered by hills in that direction? Dublin area posters may be more familiar with local effects in a northwest gale as these are rather rare, usually strong winds for Dublin are WSW or sometimes SE.

maquiladora

Need to keep an eye on that little low heading for Donegal Bay.

Oscar Bravo

1800 reports....gust of 62 knots at Finner, 53 at Newport(mayo)

corsav6

Oscar Bravo wrote: »

1800 reports....gust of 62 knots at Finner, 53 at Newport(mayo)

Some strong gusts here outside Newport, Mayo. Would probably just hit a level 2 at the moment but nothing to worry about just yet.

ninebeanrows

It has the hallmarks of a polar low. These type of features are vicious.

Would expect things to turn pretty hairy in the northwest soon.

Xenji

corsav6 wrote: »

Some strong gusts here outside Newport, Mayo. Would probably just hit a level 2 at the moment but nothing to worry about just yet.

Really picked up out the Newport Road within the space of an hour or so.

Tom Cruises Left Nut

Some sparks coming out of it off the north coast

squarecircles

Severe squally gusts in louisburgh Co. Mayo have started.

Oscar Bravo

Turning extremely windy here in Westport now

Oneiric 3

Getting pretty gusty now

M.T. Cranium

The polar low feature is around 967 mbs and is located about 50 miles NNE of Malin Head and just to the west of Tiree. Winds are very light in the Hebrides as all the energy of this low is on its western flank. The track will be roughly mid-Derry south-southeast to emerge into Irish Sea near Dundalk. Expect some very strong gusts across Donegal, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Galway, north Clare, Derry, Fermanagh and Tyrone this evening, shifting rapidly to Cavan, Monaghan, Louth, Westmeath, Longford, Offaly, Meath, Dublin, Kildare by about 11 pm. There is a very strong gradient shown on meso-scale models (one that I just consulted has the track a bit too far east at first, so have adjusted its guidance to actual 18z position).

Some models have failed to pick up this feature (GFS for example shows no separate centre) and so would advise that you go old school and follow the radar, obs and reports as this quickly moves through overnight.

Anyone reading this in Antrim, Down or Armagh be aware that there will be a very sharp cutoff of strong winds (to west of track) and you might catch some strong gusts if located in western portions of those counties while in east, winds will tend to swirl around at rather low speeds until several hours after the low passes, then pick up gradually to 80 km/hr from north.

Max winds will be associated with squally showers and some thunder is possible. Temperatures are going to rise rather than fall so snow line will retreat upslope to about 300m for a time then start coming back down the mountain so to speak.