Storm Lorenzo is set to make landfall in Ireland in the coming hours
Met Éireann, Ireland's national weather service, said at midday on Thursday that Storm Lorenzo was about 180 nautical miles west of Belmullet, Co Mayo.
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The weather service said that south-easterly winds will be strong and gusty over much of the country Thursday afternoon, with a countrywide yellow wind warning remaining in place until 6 pm local time.
At 6 pm, the orange level wind warning for western coastal counties of Galway, Mayo, Clare, Kerry, and Limerick will come into operation, and the yellow wind warning will become confined to Cork, Waterford, Tipperary, and Wexford.
Lorenzo is expected to make landfall between Erris Head and Killala Bay in County Mayo around midnight or soon after in Ireland. Strong winds and large waves will affect western and southern coasts this evening and tonight with the potential for coastal flooding and damage.
Lorenzo is expected to fill quite rapidly as it tracks south-eastwards over the country overnight. Winds in the center and to the north of the low will be generally light to moderate variable. There will, however, be pulses of heavier rain in the center and to the north of the low, with a yellow rainfall warning in operation to account for this.
The national weather service provided this satellite imagery of Storm Lorenzo over Ireland at 3 pm local time:
Our latest visible satellite image of #stormlorenzo off the west coast of Ireland. Warnings for #lorenzo are available on https://t.co/oOxITrsnvw as well as our mobile apps on both IOS and android platforms. pic.twitter.com/9bX5EOVyJ7
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) October 3, 2019
National Weather Warnings for Ireland
On Thursday evening, Met Éireann shared the following updates regarding it weather warnings for Ireland:
Status: Orange Wind warning for Galway, Mayo, Clare, Kerry, and Limerick
Update: Southwesterly winds veering westerly will reach mean speeds 65 to 80km/h with gusts generally of 100 to 130km/h, higher in some coastal regions. Storm surges will produce coastal flooding and damage.
Valid: Thursday 03 October 2019 18:00 to Friday 04 October 2019 06:00
Status: Yellow Wind warning for Ireland
Update: Southeasterly winds will reach mean speeds 50 to 65km/h with gusts 90 to 100km/h resulting in some disruptive impacts.
Valid: Thursday 03 October 2019 09:00 to Thursday 03 October 2019 18:00
Status: Yellow Rainfall warning for Connacht, Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, and Donegal
Spells of heavy rain at times today and tonight will result in some flooding.
Valid: Thursday 03 October 2019 09:00 to Friday 04 October 2019 06:00
Status: Yellow Wind warning for Leitrim and Sligo
West veering northwest winds of mean speeds of 50 to 65km/h with gusts of 90 to 100km/h.
Valid: Thursday 03 October 2019 18:00 to Friday 04 October 2019 06:00
Status Orange - Gale Warning
Southeast gales or strong gales today on all Irish Coastal Waters and on the Irish Sea. Winds veering southwest in the afternoon and reaching storm force 10 at times this evening and for a time tonight on Irish Coastal waters from Valentia to Loop Head to Erris Head.
Issued: Thursday 03 October 2019 12:00
Weather Advisory for Ireland
Met Eireann, in issuing a weather advisory for the entire country, warned that in early October, trees are mostly in full leaf with a large surface area, so even moderate strength winds can bring down weakened trees and/or tree limbs. In addition, some trees may be compromised due to saturated soils at the moment, and with more rain likely some disruption due to falling trees/branches is likely. The rain, coupled with falling leaves may block drains and gullies, leading to surface flooding.
Coastal: Storm Lorenzo will produce significant swell, high waves, and sizeable storm surges. This will lead to wave overtopping, some coastal flooding and damage.
Surface Flooding: Saturated soils and the expected heavy rainfall may lead to surface flooding.
River: River levels are currently elevated across the country and the rainfall may lead to river flooding in parts of the midlands, west and northwest. River levels will continue to rise after Storm Lorenzo has passed.
Valid: Thursday 03 October 2019 09:00 to Friday 04 October 2019 06:00
Read More: Ireland's emergency services on standby as ex-Hurricane Lorenzo nears
With Storm Lorenzo expected to bring damage across the country, RTE shared this update regarding emergency preparations, and how the public should be responding during the extreme weather:
The National Emergency Coordination Group has reiterated serious concern about the impact of Storm Lorenzo, particularly in coastal areas along the west and south west coast. | https://t.co/HeOdm0283A pic.twitter.com/tvsfTSGBBJ
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 3, 2019
The Irish Coast Guard reiterated its advice to “stay back, stay high, and stay dry," while sharing a video of people walking along a notably rough Howth Harbor in Co Dublin:
People filmed today walking through breaking waves in Howth. Heed the warnings, Stay Back, Stay High & Stay Dry!
Link to webcam https://t.co/4NzpN5VNGa #Lorenzo pic.twitter.com/xiLJ34pkYd
— Irish Coast Guard (@IrishCoastGuard) October 3, 2019
Met Eireann additionally said: “Hurricane Lorenzo is the easternmost and northernmost category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Lorenzo is expected to make its transition from hurricane to extra-tropical storm when it is approximately at 49 degrees North, approximately 1000km to the southwest of Ireland. By comparison, storm Ophelia in October 2017 retained its hurricane status until it was within 500km of Ireland.”
Read More: Hurricane Lorenzo to hit Ireland with high winds and heavy rain
How are you preparing for Storm Lorenzo? Has it affected your area of Ireland? Let us know in the comments
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