Thousands without power after Storm Bram brings strong winds and flooding

Around 70 schools closed with widespread travel disruption across air, road and rail due to weather conditions

High waves hammer the South Pier in Arklow, Co Wicklow, during Storm Bram. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
High waves hammer the South Pier in Arklow, Co Wicklow, during Storm Bram. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Thousands are without power after Storm Bram brought strong winds and flooding to Ireland.

High waves broke over the sea wall in Blackrock village, Co Louth, flooding Main Street and leaving cars stranded in water above the wheel well. In Clontarf, Co Dublin, some walkers waded through knee-deep water that had flooded on to the grass along the promenade.

Tramore and Dungarvan in Co Waterford also experienced some flooding in the morning, as did the Cork city quays at high morning tide.

Highest wind speeds were seen in the southeast of the country, moving northwest as the day progressed.

Sherkin Island, off the coast of Cork, registered the highest wind speed on Tuesday at 119km/h.

Roches Point registered 117km/h, as did Malin Head, while Cork Airport had speeds up to 100km/h, according to Met Éireann.

Counties Wexford, Wicklow, Dublin, Laois, Kilkenny, Offaly and Tipperary were worst hit by power outages.

ESB Networks said on Tuesday evening that its repair crews would work for as long as possible to restore power to affected homes and businesses and recommence work at first light on Wednesday. Early on Tuesday evening there were 54,000 without power, but this had reduced to 25,000 by 8pm.

Paul McElhinney, and his friend Martin McKenna, with Paul's children Henry (8) and Mėabh (6) look out from a shelter as Storm Bram hit the Coast Road, in Clontarf, Dublin, on Tuesday. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
Paul McElhinney, and his friend Martin McKenna, with Paul's children Henry (8) and Mėabh (6) look out from a shelter as Storm Bram hit the Coast Road, in Clontarf, Dublin, on Tuesday. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

“We acknowledge the disruption to family and commercial life this causes and thank impacted customers for their patience as our crews work to safely restore power,” an ESB spokesperson said.

The Department of Education said about 70 schools closed their doors on Tuesday due to the status orange and yellow wind warnings that affected the entire country. Most of these schools were in western coastal areas.

Travel was also affected in large parts of the country, with the operator of Dublin Airport confirming 91 flights were cancelled and another 10 were diverted elsewhere. Several flights were cancelled at Cork Airport, while just one was cancelled at Ireland West Airport at Knock, in Co Mayo, a spokesman said.

Irish Rail confirmed disruption across its network, including the suspension of services between Greystones and Wicklow town from about 3pm due to flooding. In Dublin, a tree blocked the line and damaged overhead wires between Grand Canal Dock and Lansdowne, affecting operations. Both lines reopened on Tuesday night.

Damage at Doolin Pier in Co Clare after the passing of Storm Bram. Photograph: Liam Burke/Press 22
Damage at Doolin Pier in Co Clare after the passing of Storm Bram. Photograph: Liam Burke/Press 22

Flooding at Waterford station led to a pause of services through there on Tuesday morning, while in Co Cork some Bus Éireann routes experienced weather-related delays.

Every county in the Republic was under an orange weather warning at some point on Tuesday as the storm hit the country. Co Donegal remained under a status orange wind warning until 9pm, and, along with counties Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo, was covered by a yellow wind warning until midnight.

Met Éireann forecaster Siobhán Ryan said the weather for the coming week looks “unsettled”.

Wednesday will be a “drier, quieter day” than Tuesday, but “still on the breezy side”, she said.

Scattered showers will clear northwards on Wednesday morning, leaving behind mostly dry and bright conditions with sunny spells.

Lowest temperatures will range from 7 to 10 degrees, with moderate to fresh southerly winds strengthening through the night.

Wet and windy weather will continue into the weekend, with heavier rain and “blustery high winds” to pick up again towards the end of next week due to low pressure.

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