Forecasters are warning of a potential “danger to life” as Storm Debi brings winds of up to 130 kilometres per hour to large areas of the island of Ireland this morning.
Schools in parts of Ireland have been asked to delay opening until 10am in case of fallen trees and other debris impacting travel, as weather warnings came into effect for the entire island.
There will be no Bus Éireann school transport services in the 21 counties affected by Red and Orange warnings this morning. However, the company says that afternoon services will operate as normal, once local roads are safe for travel.
Bus Éireann scheduled services in the red warning affected counties are not operating between 5am and 10am this morning.
At 10am services in Cavan, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Westmeath & Wicklow will resume on a phased basis – full updates are on the company’s website.
Rail services are running but with speed restrictions meaning delays are likely. Trains between Galway and Portarlington are now stopped at two points because of fallen trees.
The ESB says almost 60,000 homes, farms and businesses are without power across the country, with the number expected to rise.
Outages have been reported in Meath, as well as Cavan, Kildare, Longford, Laois, Offaly and Westmeath.
People are being warned not to touch fallen wires. The contact number for members of the public is 1800 372 999.
The network also says all available resources have been deployed, and network crews will respond to outages once it is safe to do so.
The Road Safety Authority is urging motorists to avoid driving altogether in counties where a red alert has been issued.
While a yellow warning for every county in Ireland came into effect at midnight and is due to remain until 3pm on Monday, the majority of people are also living in areas where Met Éireann has issued red warnings due to “severe and damaging gusts”.
The first red warning has been extended in east Galway and south Roscommon until 7am.
As the storm tracks northeast over the island, a second red warning has come into effect for Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Louth, Meath, Wicklow, Offaly and Westmeath until 9am.
A status orange wind warning also applies to these counties as well as Longford, Cavan, Monaghan, Kilkenny, Longford, Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Carlow and the rest of Galway and Roscommon from 2am until 10am.
A separate orange wind warning has been in effect since 1am for Cork.
Universities in Dublin and Limerick are expected to open as normal this morning once status red warnings expire.
Dublin City University has told students not to attend until 12 midday today.
Meanwhile, the Technological University of the Shannon and Maynooth University have cancelled any teaching until 10am.
In general, third-level institutions are urging students and staff to follow the advice of Met Éireann and local authorities.
Dublin Airport warned that the weather “may cause some disruption to early morning flights”, while the Luas said there will be no Red or Green Line tram services operating before approximately 10am.
Dublin Airport is open & operational this morning. As of 6am, 4 incoming & 4 outgoing flights have been cancelled.
Some disruption is possible today as a result of #StormDebi.
Passengers are advised to contact their airline for updates on specific flights. ✈️ (1/2) pic.twitter.com/D2V3hKZBE3
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) November 13, 2023
Meanwhile, Shannon Airport has not reported any flight cancellations, with all flights still running as scheduled for today.
Cork Airport has reported only one flight cancellation with all other departures and arrivals running as expected.
Dublin Coach also advised a number of its services were cancelled because of the weather warnings with updates to be provided throughout the day.
There are no Luas trams operating this morning on the red or green line until around 10am due to Storm Debi.
The same is true for Dublin Bus services, which will not operate until the same.
Dublin City Council says all parks and libraries will remain closed until at least 10am this morning because of the red weather warning.
The closure also impacts all sports and recreation facilities in the city, while all non-essential council staff have been asked to work from home.
The council says it has crews on standby and its crisis management team is reconvening again this morning.
Motorists in County Cork are advised to be aware of the danger posed by high winds and they should drive with care during heavy rain this morning.
The county council’s Severe Weather Assessment Team met last night due to the Orange Wind Warning for Cork which ended at 4am.
People are advised to stay high, dry and away from the coast, rivers and lakes.
Driving conditions may be hazardous with surface flooding possible and they should not to drive through flood waters.
It comes after floods during intense rain from Storms Babet and Ciaran devastated parts of the island.
Met Éireann says it will be “very windy or stormy” across the country, with heavy rain and a chance of embedded thunderstorms and hail.
It warned there is a possibility of localised flooding, hazardous driving conditions and fallen trees.
Stormy in many areas this morning as #StormDebi continues to track northeastwards over the country
Severe & damaging wind gusts are expected leading to some disruption
Stay updated⬇️https://t.co/APKV3yYcZq pic.twitter.com/tVlWk1bVLK
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) November 13, 2023
The national director for fire and emergency management advised people to stay away from coastal areas as conditions will be “extremely hazardous”.
Keith Leonard also warned: “People are advised to keep track of the Met Éireann weather forecast because those counties in red, orange could change at short notice.” Mr Leonard said people should expect lengthy delays across public transport and delays at ports and airports.
He added: “Employers are asked to have some flexibility in relation to employees who have to travel to work and if working from home is an option, that will be the preferred option for people in the counties affected.”
Mr Leonard said road users should be aware of “very hazardous and difficult conditions” on Monday, including downed power lines.
He said there will be a substantial number of downed trees and other debris during the “serious winter storm with some dangerous features”.
“A very important message in relation to keeping your phone charged. There’s going to be extensive electricity outages and your mobile phone is your link to the emergency services.”
The UK Met Office has also issued a yellow wind and rain warning for all of Northern Ireland on Monday, while an amber warning will apply in the southeast of the region around Newry and Downpatrick.
The yellow warning came into effect at 3am on Monday and applies until 2pm, while the amber warning is in effect from 6am until midday.
It said heavy rain and strong winds may bring disruption and flooding to parts of the region.
It advised people to be aware that homes and businesses could be flooded and there could be disruption to bus, rail and air travel.
The agency also warned that fast-flowing or deep floodwater and flying debris could cause a danger to life Power cuts are also possible.