Three weather warnings for Cork tomorrow

As the clean-up continues from Storm Éowyn, more wind and rain warnings are set to come into effect for Cork on Sunday.

A status yellow rain warning will be in place for Cork, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wicklow, Kerry, Tipperary, and Waterford from 5am on Sunday morning until 5pm on Sunday evening.

Met Éireann are warning that heavy downpours of rain may lead to spot flooding.

Meanwhile, a status yellow wind warning is in place for Cork, as well as all other counties in Munster, and Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Galway, Mayo, and Sligo from 6am on Sunday morning until 6pm on Sunday evening.

The national forecaster is warning of strong and gusty winds which will see further damage to already weakened structures and trees after Storm Éowyn, as well as dangerous travelling conditions.

⚠️Two status Yellow Warnings have been issued for #Cork.

☔️Status Yellow Rain:Valid: 05:00 Sunday 26/01/2025 to 17:00 Sunday 26/01/2025

💨Status Yellow Wind: Valid: 23:00 Sunday 26/01/2025 to 06:00 Monday 27/01/2025

Please be cautious if travelling as surface water may be… https://t.co/4QPP3nM1x5

— Cork City Council (@corkcitycouncil) January 25, 2025

Yet another wind warning comes into effect for Cork, Kerry and Waterford on Sunday night at 11pm, and will remain in place until 6am on Monday.

This will cause similar issues with travel and further damage to already weakened trees and structures.

Sunday's Munster weather forecast

It will be wet and windy tomorrow morning with strong and gusty southeasterly winds developing, with gale force winds along exposed coasts. 

Rain will become widespread and heavy in places with some localised flooding possible. 

The rain will clear to sunny spells and scattered showers in the afternoon with a chance of thunderstorms. 

The winds will veer southerly and will ease moderate to fresh as the rain clears. 

Highest temperatures will be 7 to 10 degrees.

Power restored to thousands in Cork

Almost 2,500 homes and business on Cork city's northside were without electricity this lunchtime.

Made enquiries about power outage on Northside of the city.
As soon as I receive a reply I’ll be in contact . Stay safe @echolivecork pic.twitter.com/I1AIDrXXLo

— Cllr. Tony Fitzgerald P.C. (@Tfitzgeraldcork) January 25, 2025

It is understood an electricity pole is on fire in the area and may have been struck by lightening.

Speaking to The Echo Fianna Fáil councillor Tony Fitzgerald said: “I believe it was struck by lightning. I contacted the fire service in the first instance to make the area safe, as a result of the fire.

"Then for the ESB to examine the damage and to try and get power back up and repaired quickly.

“It is up near John F Connolly road which heads up to Castleview AFC's pitch."

Power has since been restored.

There are numerous other smaller faults across Cork also.

Nationally, 460,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without power following Storm Éowyn. 

ESB Networks is mobilising all available resources to restore power to homes, farms and businesses as soon as possible. Already power has been restored to 308,000 customers and intensive work will continue over the weekend.

Visit powercheck.ie for the most up-to-date information.

Busy day on Storm Éowyn clear-up

Cork City Fire Brigade second officer Victor Shine told The Echo they had a busy day on Friday following Storm Éowyn.

“Most of the calls we responded to were trees down and debris blocking road access or pedestrian access,” he said.

“However, there was also some hoarding from buildings down, structural material, roof material, and corrugated steel sheeting.”

Luckily, he said, there were minimal injuries. “The only person we’re aware of that received any medical attention was the occupant of an overturned caravan in Spring Lane,” he added.

“What made it better and reduced the amount of injuries and potential deaths was people heeding the warnings and staying inside, so luckily there are not many injuries presenting as a result of the adverse conditions.”

Uisce Éireann working to address water quality

Uisce Éireann is working to address supply interruptions to impacted customers across county Cork following Storm Éowyn

The storm has led to poor raw water quality at the Ballinatona Water Treatment Plant in North Cork

As a result, production from the plant is reduced.

Customers in the communities of Meelin, Barnacurra, Ballyduane, Taur, Boherbue, Dernagree, Knocknagree, Kiskeam, Ballydesmond, Kilbrin and surrounding areas that are supplied by Ballinatona Water Treatment Plant are expected to experience reduced water pressure or loss of supply.

Bottled water is being provided to support local customers impacted by lost of supply and these are located in the following areas:

• Car park outside Boherbue National School.
• Kiskeam GAA Grounds / Community Centre 
• Carpark across from church in Meelin village

Updates on local supply issues will be provided on the Uisce Éireann website, www.water.ie as they become available.

Nationally, there were approximately 200,000 customers without water as of 10am Saturday morning, and a further 300,000 at risk.

National Emergency Co-ordination Group meets

The National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) met today as the nationwide clean-up continues following Storm Éowyn. 

The Chair of the NECG had briefed the Taoiseach Micheál Martin earlier this morning and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, was in attendance at the NECG meeting.

The NECG Infrastructure Sub-Group will meet this afternoon with a focus on coordinating the ongoing efforts to restore power and other services.

The full NECG will meet again tomorrow, and work will continue throughout the day to coordinate the response and recovery.

Keith Leonard, Chair of the NECG said: “Although the recovery stage is now well underway, the damage caused by Storm Éowyn will still present hazards on our roads, so I’m asking drivers to continue taking extra care this weekend. In particular, please heed the advice from the ESB – never approach fallen power lines and report such cases to ESB Emergency Services. 

"Major clean-up and road clearance operations should also be left to the emergency services and professional operators who are trained to do such work safely.

“The NECG continues to focus on co-ordinating efforts to restore power, water, telecommunications and other services to the many homes, farms and businesses affected by this storm. 

"A whole of Government effort is underway to ensure we get the right resources to the right places and get the country back to normal as soon as possible, with the Defence Forces and many state agencies, including the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Coillte, providing manpower, resources and assistance to clear obstructions and to help ESB Networks to restore connection to those still without power. 

"There will continue to be significant impacts to services across all sectors in the coming days due the severity of the impact to the power distribution network, but every effort is being made to restore power and services as fast as humanly possible.”