Hundreds still without power in Cork after Storm Ashley

Thousands of households and businesses in Cork were left without power for periods of time yesterday as Storm Ashley wreaked havoc across the city and county.

However, this morning most have had power restored. There are 150 homes and businesses across three areas in West Cork - Bandon, Innishannon and Timoleague - still without power this morning. There are approximately a further 150 in North Cork without power - near Kanturk.

A status yellow wind warning was issued for Cork by Met Éireann, which stayed in place until midnight on last night.

A status orange wind warning was issued for Clare, Kerry, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, and Sligo, which was in place until 8pm.

Both warnings were coupled with a gale warning for all coasts of Ireland and on the Irish Sea, which warned of south-east winds, veering south-west, increasing to gale force 8 or strong gale force 9, which was in place until 10pm.

As a result of the storm, more than 50,000 ESB customers lost power, with the worst impacted areas including north Cork, Mayo, Galway, Sligo, Clare, Kerry, and north Dublin.

Areas of note in Cork that experienced long-term outages during Sunday include Carrigaline and Mitchelstown, with upwards of 8,000 customers impacted across the city and county at one point.

Other areas that experienced power outages include Midleton, Little Island, Béal na Bláth, Cloonbannin, Kanturk, Mallow, Fermoy, Castlelyons, and Curraglass.

Power was restored to the majority of homes in Cork by 8pm, except for a small portion of households in north Cork, which were expected to be without power until lunchtime today. Homes and businesses without power near Kanturk may have to wait until anywhere between 2pm and 6.30pm for the restoration of power, according to the ESB's powercheck.ie website.

Throughout Sunday, there were several reports of fallen trees, loose debris, displaced objects, coastal flooding and exceptionally high spring tides.

According to posts on social media, there were multiple reports of fallen trees and strewn power cables causing disruptions to travelling conditions across large swathes of the city and county.

Tidal flooding was also reported in Bantry, with crews from Cork County Council and the fire brigade working to pump flood waters, successfully preventing any significant flooding in the town and damage to property.

High tide occurred at 7am yesterday, with a spokesperson for the council saying that it was the highest experienced so far in this cycle.

Storm Ashley’s winds were predicted to gradually moderate overnight, having reached up to 74kph in coastal areas throughout the day. 

The weather forecast for today expects a quieter and drier day, with some sunshine and scattered showers.

Showers are predicted to become heavier this evening, with highest temperatures of 13 to 15 degrees and moderate south-west winds.

A small craft warning for all coasts of Ireland remains in place until 4am tomorrow, warning of west or south-west winds that will reach gale force 6 or higher.