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Storm Ophelia - General Discussion/Local reports - See MOD NOTE Post #1

Samaris

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'Scuse me if I'm breaking any rules of Weather here with another thread, but didn't want to derail the main thread with too much chatter.

Guessing a lot of people (particularly us mostly-lurkers) might be in the same boat as me - not really sure what this all means on the ground in terms of preparation - and even if it's not too awful, I for one would prefer to be over-prepared rather than under-prepared! (At the moment, I don't feel that prepared at all!)

I'm living in a pretty exposed place for this particular set of indicators (on a narrow, south-west jutting peninsula off the Galway coast) and thus somewhat nervous about it. We're moving the bedroom to the sitting room as I've always been a bit dubious about the tall trees on that side of the house, but apart from that, sheltering the car (somehow) and ensuring there's as little potential debris as possible, I'm a bit at a loss. Water, candles might be an idea to get in.

Any more experienced people have ideas? Or what are others in the firing line doing?

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RoisinClare6

Some rural broadband companies do have generators for there masts, the one I work for previously did and my current company do aswell.

I'm concerned for people who are homeless on the streets the most. I hope there is somewhere for them to be safe.

MJohnston

There's one place I will not be too disappointed if it isn't spared damage in this storm, it's about 2km north-east of the village of Doonbeg...

aidanodr

Any thoughts on our house insurance's .. especially if Ophelia turns out as bad as predicted structural damage wise. I wonder will they try dodge via act of god or "you didnt SPECIFICALLY have hurricane cover in your small print" ??

Nekarsulm

Just going to store 25 litres of spring water, check where the candles are, and we've a little double burner camping gas stove, so getting extra gas.
Wood stove so heating is OK.
Chainsaws sharpened and petrol mixed in readiness.
Farm is OK cause I put in a 15kva PTO genny back in the 1990's, so tractor at the ready.
New house not on same meter, but if worst happens have a 2kva Petter diesel genny I can rig up. Bloody noisy yoke.
Biggest danger around here is old trees coming down. You think you're insured, until something actually happens, like a tree falling on a car. Luckily worst of the wind is predicted during daylight hours.

_Whimsical_

A lot of older people might not realise that their cordless "house" phone won't work if the electricity is down. No harm warning them to have their mobiles charged and ready.

0byme75341jo28

I know this is a bit random/makes me look like a lazy fecker, but what are the chances of universities suspending classes on Monday? I've heard they're always very reluctant to do so but I'd love a day off :pac:

Coax

yellowlabrador wrote: »

I'm also going to lay my dustbins flat on the ground so they can't blow over. I've just had them emptied.

Try filling them up with enough water so they are too heavy to drag.

Laying them flat will only stop them getting blown over. They still present a great surface area to the wind.

Irish Steve

RoisinClare6 wrote: »

Some rural broadband companies do have generators for there masts, the one I work for previously did and my current company do aswell.

I'm concerned for people who are homeless on the streets the most. I hope there is somewhere for them to be safe.

Re wireless broadband, this sort of event is where we find out how committed to customer service the providers are. Some are clearly not, and don't have effective resilience to cover power outages at remote masts.

Having said that, based on a discussion earlier, the same issues could also affect fibre broadband, the remote cabinets have a relatively limited battery backup system, so more than a few hours, and even if the router at a house is alive, it may not be able to connect to the service provider

Most of this event will be during "acceptable" hours, so in urban areas, there should be plenty of places that homeless can find shelter and protection. Hopefully, it is one of the issues that will be discussed by the emergency response group tomorrow.

Stephen Hawkins football boots

Franco Mango Superstition wrote: »

I know this is a bit random/makes me look like a lazy fecker, but what are the chances of universities suspending classes on Monday? I've heard they're always very reluctant to do so but I'd love a day off :pac:

It's a mon wind or no wind, no-one goes to uni on a mon well at least not in my day

Rougies

MJohnston wrote: »

There's one place I will not be too disappointed if it isn't spared damage in this storm, it's about 2km north-west of the village of Doonbeg...

He'd probably blame the closest wind turbines.

0byme75341jo28

Stephen Hawkins football boots wrote: »

Franco Mango Superstition wrote: »

I know this is a bit random/makes me look like a lazy fecker, but what are the chances of universities suspending classes on Monday? I've heard they're always very reluctant to do so but I'd love a day off :pac:

It's a mon wind or no wind, no-one goes to uni on a mon well at least not in my day

We have compulsory practical sessions these days

Go Tobban

Never mind the students!

What's the chance of employers telling staff to stay at home on Monday:D?!

Coax

RoisinClare6 wrote: »

Some rural broadband companies do have generators for there masts, the one I work for previously did and my current company do aswell.

.

Yes, some of the larger companies do. The majority don't.

I know some who operate on the principle of subcontract out the supply of a mobile generator but completely ignore the logistics of getting one to site. No good getting one delivered to site prior to an event ad soneone still has to travel to site to start the blessed thing.....

Rougies

Go Tobban wrote: »

Never mind the students!

What's the chance of employers telling staff to stay at home on Monday:D?!

Hot Air Balloon pilots - 100%

ESB repair crew - 0%

gozunda

Jimbob1977 wrote: »

Our trampoline was weighed down with eight sandbags before Storm Darwin. We found it 300 metres away. Two fields over.

Either dismantle it tomorrow.... or remove the side netting and flip it upside down (So the mat is touching the grass) and then weigh it down.

+1 for inverting Trampoline and weighing it down well. During Storm Darwin I knew of a trampoline that went airborne and landed in a neighbouring conservatory ....

Dangerous yokes in a storm imo.

Irish Steve

Go Tobban wrote: »

Never mind the students!

What's the chance of employers telling staff to stay at home on Monday:D?!

I would hope that there will be appropriate guidance from the emergency group meeting tomorrow, if this is going to be as significant an event as appears possible, there is a strong chance that many services will be shut down for safety reasons.

I know I'd be very reluctant to be driving a train at "normal" speeds on some routes with winds as strong as forecast, in that stopping before a downed tree is a big problem, and after dark, it will be downright dangerous if winds are still high.

If the DART is not running, that will mean chaos on the roads and buses, and even more so if debris is being blown in all directions by the weather, and that's without the implications of downed trees on the roads. There is also the issue of the danger of strong cross winds on motorways for high side commercial vehicles. If power is out, that will mean chaos on the roads as traffic lights and street lighting will not be working, so from a safety point of view, that will be a nightmare, and the same will apply to things like level crossings, no power will cause all sorts of problems.

I can see significant closures for safety on Monday afternoon at least, and if power is out, that's going to be another issue for many companies.

Go Tobban

Rougies wrote: »

Hot Air Balloon pilots - 100%

ESB repair crew - 0%

0byme75341jo28

On another issue, are bus services likely to be affected on Monday? Or will this all effectively be determined by emergency group meeting?

Stephen Hawkins football boots

Irish Steve wrote: »

I would hope that there will be appropriate guidance from the emergency group meeting tomorrow, if this is going to be as significant an event as appears possible, there is a strong chance that many services will be shut down for safety reasons.

I know I'd be very reluctant to be driving a train at "normal" speeds on some routes with winds as strong as forecast, in that stopping before a downed tree is a big problem, and after dark, it will be downright dangerous if winds are still high.

If the DART is not running, that will mean chaos on the roads and buses, and even more so if debris is being blown in all directions by the weather, and that's without the implications of downed trees on the roads. There is also the issue of the danger of strong cross winds on motorways for high side commercial vehicles. If power is out, that will mean chaos on the roads as traffic lights and street lighting will not be working, so from a safety point of view, that will be a nightmare, and the same will apply to things like level crossings, no power will cause all sorts of problems.

I can see significant closures for safety on Monday afternoon at least, and if power is out, that's going to be another issue for many companies.

Irish Steve you have been very informative thank you

RoisinClare6

Franco Mango Superstition wrote: »

On another issue, are bus services likely to be affected on Monday? Or will this all effectively be determined by emergency group meeting?

I'd say we'll have to wait to see what the out coke of the meeting is. Fingers crossed things aren't left until late tomorrow evening/night

Go Tobban

Irish Steve wrote: »

I would hope that there will be appropriate guidance from the emergency group meeting tomorrow, if this is going to be as significant an event as appears possible, there is a strong chance that many services will be shut down for safety reasons.

I know I'd be very reluctant to be driving a train at "normal" speeds on some routes with winds as strong as forecast, in that stopping before a downed tree is a big problem, and after dark, it will be downright dangerous if winds are still high.

If the DART is not running, that will mean chaos on the roads and buses, and even more so if debris is being blown in all directions by the weather, and that's without the implications of downed trees on the roads. There is also the issue of the danger of strong cross winds on motorways for high side commercial vehicles. If power is out, that will mean chaos on the roads as traffic lights and street lighting will not be working, so from a safety point of view, that will be a nightmare, and the same will apply to things like level crossings, no power will cause all sorts of problems.

I can see significant closures for safety on Monday afternoon at least, and if power is out, that's going to be another issue for many companies.

Woah I was only joking but this is looking more and more serious as time goes by. If train lines are effected I'd hope employers do the right thing and tell people to stay at home where possible

Roads will be nuts across the country with trees down etc

Gonna give the old generator in the shed a whirl tomorrow to see if she's still in working order

0byme75341jo28

RoisinClare6 wrote: »

Franco Mango Superstition wrote: »

On another issue, are bus services likely to be affected on Monday? Or will this all effectively be determined by emergency group meeting?

I'd say we'll have to wait to see what the out coke of the meeting is. Fingers crossed things aren't left until late tomorrow evening/night

Yeah, hopefully not. Too late to make alternative arrangements at that stage..

Row

Thanks to all those in the know who have kept us all updated on the potential severity of this storm in this Thread....;)

The Main priority is we need to keep ourselves/family/neighbours/workmates/etc safe.....

Houses...Cars...etc can be replaced but we can not be replaced....

Lets hope we don't get hit to hard but if we do in the meantime lets put all trampolines/loose materials etc around the house/work in a secure location.

Thanks again to they informative posters on here...;)

Irish Steve

Go Tobban wrote: »

Woah I was only joking but this is looking more and more serious as time goes by. If train lines are effected I'd hope employers do the right thing and tell people to stay at home where possible

Roads will be nuts across the country with trees down etc

Gonna give the old generator in the shed a whirl tomorrow to see if she's still in working order

The uncomfortable reality is that there has not been a weather event of this magnitude for nearly 60 years, and back in 1961 there was nothing like the traffic volumes or automatic level crossings, or train frequencies that are the norm now. There were no motorways, and very few roads that were safe at the speeds that are considered normal now, and despite that, nearly 20 people were killed by that event.

Now, we are much more dependent on things like electricity, and the internet, traffic volumes are orders of magnitude greater than they were in 1961, so the problems to be overcome on Monday could be a lot more complex than they were in 1961.

Even if it downgrades significantly over the next 24 hours (and there's not much sign of that so far), Monday is going to be a difficult day, and that's one of the reasons why I've put some of these specific posts up, to try and make people aware of some of the issues that could come from a few hours of chaos on Monday afternoon/evening, weather events of this magnitude don't happen here very often, so the implications are not known either, and some of the implications could very easily catch people out, possibly with life threatening consequences, so anything I can do to make people stop and think for a few moments is a worthwhile outcome.

George Sunsnow

fraxinus1 wrote: »

If the storm tracks east then Dublin needs to be included in the Red warning zone even if winds don't quite exceed 130km per hour in gusts. The amount of building work, people, traffic etc means increased liklihood of death and destruction compared to that caused by winds of same strength hitting the west.

That will all be dealt with tomorrow after the emergency management committee meeting but also perhaps before that meeting
Safe to assume with the way this is being dealt with so far that’s going to happen

Bear in mind too that Debbie in 61 is the only precedent
There were no satellites then so difficult to compare its transition or arrival stages and also many of the experienced metorologists of the time who dealt with that one are now dead

fraxinus1

RTE News is a disgrace. Seriously...the worst storm to hit Ireland in 60 years could strike on Monday and they think Bus Eireann cancelling school buses is the main issue?

RoisinClare6

Irish Steve is right.

So many people I've talked to or saw posts on Facebook are brushing this off as a bit of wind. While you don't want people in hysterics you don't want them completely caught out either.

Think of the say the M50 come 5:30 Monday....it's one of the last places you want people to be stuck. Or elderly people stuck alone in the dark.

smodgley

would farmers have their livestock in yet being that its been so mild ? but i suppose in or out this event could affect them badly

Magic ]=)

Here's something to help understand what's coming. Presentation from The Weather Channel about 1-5 hurricane strengths.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqfExHpvLRY

fraxinus1

smodgley wrote: »

would farmers have their livestock in yet being that its been so mild ? but i suppose in or out this event could affect them badly

Livestock probably safer outside. They will huddle down behind sturdy ditches and hedges whereas farm buildings and yards can be dangerous places in high winds.