Storm Debbi

buzz11

The last storm Debbie in Sept 1961 caused havoc and was part of local lore for many decades, lets see what this one brings

https://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/68782/hurricane-debbie

https://www.met.ie/cms/assets/uploads/2017/08/Sep1961_hurricane-Debbie.pdf

Laviski

nothing will happen, i've checked forecasts and kerry will get a beating... clare but only along the coast but yet the who county in red....

the whole red warning is not fit for purpose.

rustyfrog

Was thinking similar, it'll get windy during the night but forecast data doesn't look exceptional. I'm expecting a fairly regular blustery day in the morning.

Gremlinertia

One deluge and a storm surge at the right time tidally could be bad. However as mentioned blanket forecasts aren't fit for local weather. I'll stay with sources like rain radar, accu weather and maybe earthnullschool

Gremlinertia

Just looking at the update on the weather forum from M.T Cranium is a great synopsis, as they say, it's fast and strong so hard to make a right path

maniac2003

Significant flooding and wind damage around galway. The eye of the storm is as bad as any storm I remember

rustyfrog

That was a short and sharp storm, I think Met Eireann called it well in fairness.

Unfortunately the timing with high tide at 5am has caused some flooding around the Spanish Arch and Claddagh.

Claddagh;

https://www.tiktok.com/@aammyoconnor/video/7300808942362430753?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=mobile&sender_web_id=7290962627529983521

From RTE;

rustyfrog

https://twitter.com/joemagraollaigh/status/1723967635027533900?t=99GvQvsEEm5fi163j_fn2A&s=19

..

zell12

A quick overnight storm, caused damaged around the county. And the red warning is correct in this case. Another storm due daytime Saturday

zell12

Btw, where does the 401 bus divert to?

• 401 services are being diverted. Spanish Arch, Fr Griffin Rd and Salthill will not be served until further notice.

ax530

Red warning for Galway East but image has as far west as Aran colored in. Confusing

Sounded very bad around 4.30 but didn't seem to last long

ULEZ23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121360140#Comment_121360140

You were dead right…….

Unrealistic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121361599#Comment_121361599

Galway and Cork are outliers in terms of having places 150km+ apart within the same county, and consequentially potentially large variations in weather within the same county. Met Eireann responded to previous criticism about this by acknowledging that weakness but taking the position that overall, using country boundaries for warnings limited confusion, and was the most effective solution for the country as a whole.

For this storm, with the maps still colour coded by county, but the description referencing East Galway and South Roscommon, they seem to be trying to add some nuance to the existing system without actually changing it.

Laviski

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121362170#Comment_121362170

to be fair i didn't check the tides.... but i do not live 50 meters from the sea that is prone to flooding or on re claimed land. so the galway coast got a bit of bruising....

shutting down schools/childcare/work for the entire county until 10am is overkill. severe orange warning should have been enough and red for coastal. plenty of apps to give specific advice relating to their place be it work/school/creche

i still stand by what i say, the red warning system is not fit for purpose.

Mrs OBumble

People are thick.

Before they introduced simple red/orange/yellow warnings, people were getting killed by going out in storms they shouldn't have gone out in.

Yes, it's a little clunky around the edges of large counties. But expecting people to make intelligent decisions about the risks they take is not realistic in this country where ignoring bad weather is required or you'd never plan to do anything.

1641

I watched the Met forecast yesterday after the midday lunchtime news on RTE. The storm centre had not even developed at that stage - but Met were clear that it would develop to the southwest based on their readings and modelling. However, as it would then reach land rapidly and move about on its way, they indicated that they were uncertain as to where precisely it would strike hardest. They showed their predicted red zone but advised to keep checking in.

For such a fast developing storm I think they did a good job.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121360140#Comment_121360140

We are so lucky to have your insightfulness.

kippy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121362357#Comment_121362357

Always better err on the site of caution. Inland in Galway (Craughwell) multiple trees down near the school there. That's all that I am aware of, am sure there was damage throughout the county.

No warning there and it's possible more traffic in the area and someone ends up under it..no warning there and trees is still in middle of road at school opening.

How do you improve on the current system bearing in mind that storms move, are difficult to predict far in advance and people, as said above, are idiots.

Laviski

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121363975#Comment_121363975

you can't fix stupid, so it shouldn't be accommodated. Been out n about and apart from a few twigs and alot of leaves there is nothing of note. That would be the very least to be expected after a storm......

red warning should be used sparingly, for this storm it should have been red warning on coastal areas (lets say within 1 km) and severe orange in inland areas.

kippy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121364043#Comment_121364043

We allow for stupid all the time and there many people who simply don't understand things if made too complex.

There were trees down county wide, I've given an example above of one such incidence. Falling trees have killed people before.

So again what is your fix here, bearing in mind the fact that storms aren't stationary and are generally difficult to predict?

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121364043#Comment_121364043

My power went off at 5am and only returned at 4pm. That kind of damage was not done by a few twigs.

I have a large, maybe 24 inch diameter planter next to the front door, filled with soil. I would struggle to move it. it got moved about 2 metres into the driveway. That was not done by a bit of wind.

Gremlinertia

While people are still parking in various sea facing parks the warnings must stay.. County boundaries are the easiest way to distinguish but counties like Cork, Galway and Tipperary span such a distance that it can't hope to be accurate across that region..

There are many ways to track weather online, now I will say AccuWeather used to be my go to but the Shannon side measuring device is offline more than on so now I tend to compare and contrast yr.no and nullschool

what_traffic

How far did the flooding occur in Clarinbridge? I know Londis and buildings around it flooded on the South side of the river. Did the Oyster House /Paddy Burkes on the Northern side flood or is it sufficiently higher up that it avoided the Storm Surge?

Wompa1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121366253#Comment_121366253

I was there yesterday, it looked like Paddy Burkes faired ok but it is raised a decent bit. The entire gutter across the top of the pub was pulled down onto the path but didn't look like there was extensive damage there. The complex where the Londis is was fecked. I couldn't tell if the water got to the cafe, Pizza Max and Yoga Lounge part. I would guess it did not as there were a lot of cars parked around there while the rest was sectioned off.

Wompa1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121364213#Comment_121364213

To be fair, it doesn't even have to be that accurate. If there is an orange or red warning, we should pay attention to it and if it turns out to be a tame storm, we should not dismiss the warning system and disregard future warnings, we should just be thankful that the storm either didn't develop to the strength it was predicted or didn't take the exact path that was predicted.

Wompa1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121364096#Comment_121364096

There are spots in Ballinderreen and Kilcolgan still without power right now. Others in Kinvara who have power but no phone lines so also no internet.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121366579#Comment_121366579

From their Facebook, Poppyseed cafe was badly hit.

kippy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121364043#Comment_121364043

Heres a small few photos that ended up on RTE of the damage nation wide:

https://www.rte.ie/news/weather/2023/1113/1416202-storm-debi/

Not all of those places are within a kilometre of the coast nor is the damage a few twigs on the ground.

As stated above it should be apreciated the the damage to some parts wasn't as bad as forecast - we shouldn't be complaining about this.

Sconsey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121364043#Comment_121364043

There is a good sized tree down near the Scoil Íde national school in Salthill, it is still on the footpath. I think it was completely justified telling schools to open an hour or two later to be confident the falling debris had all fallen by the time kids are going to be out and about.

Gremlinertia

Went for a small walk earlier and I saw slate on the ground, plus one entire one sat like a throwing knife in the front lawn.. Err on the side of caution is my go to

Laviski

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121368483#Comment_121368483

thats about 500 meters from the ocean, so ya not surprised. But also in that area are tall and wide trees that catch alot of wind. There is a duty of care for safety and maintenance on both private and public spaces depending on whos the owner however there is no legislation currently to enforce a height restriction. Perhaps there should be along with tree pruning. prevention is better than cure.

A school less than 2 km away and in that area were fine as no signs of disturbance. trampolines and playhouses still in garden, not even moved.

@kippy to reply to earlier post, using county's for red red warning is not fit purpose. using Local electoral area even though breaks up into smaller chunks still wouldn't be good enough. A better system should be developed, an app with an map showing a heatmap of damage likely - whats on the met app isn't great.

when a storm comes its the usual spots and yes the idiots still parks in places that are well known to flood. I wonder if anyone was swimming in the sea.....