Storm Austen, the first storm of the season, has brought heavy rain and power outages to the island of Ireland, with a second storm, Storm Boelo, expected to arrive over the weekend.
Around 3,000 homes, farms and businesses were without electricity at 7am on Friday as a result of Storm Austen, according to ESB Networks.
Weather warnings and power restoration
An orange rain warning came into effect for Cork, Kerry and Waterford late on Thursday night as Austen arrived, lifting at 5am. A similar warning for Dublin, Wexford and Wicklow was issued from 2am to 8am on Friday morning.
A yellow rain and wind warning remains in effect for Munster and Leinster until 10am on Friday. ESB Networks said crews have been deployed in all areas impacted by power outages to carry out the necessary restoration work, where safe to do so.
Storm Boelo expected over the weekend
Storm Austen was forecast to bring “intense rain and flooding”, with Met Éireann warning of difficult travel conditions and the potential for flooding.
Storm Boelo is set to follow over the weekend, with the northern part of the island forecast to be more affected by that separate weather front. The UK Met Office has issued a yellow wind warning for Northern Ireland from 6pm on Saturday to 3pm on Sunday, warning of 50 to 60mph gusts, with winds up to 65 to 75mph in exposed areas.
