Updated at 8.45pm
- Storm Eunice made landfall in Ireland overnight, with severe winds, heavy rain and snow reported in parts of the country.
- A council worker has been killed after being hit by a falling tree in Co Wexford.
- The entire country remains under a yellow warning for snow and ice.
- Met Éireann has issued new weather warnings for Saturday and Sunday, covering 10 counties in the west.
- At noon, over 80,000 homes were without power due to the storm, reducing to around 28,000 by 8pm.
A yellow wind warning for the entire country has now elapsed, although a similar alert for snow and ice will remain in place until 10am on Saturday as thousands of homes remain without power.
Met Éireann is predicting "falls of sleet and snow on Friday and Saturday with accumulations in some areas and icy stretches leading to hazardous driving conditions".
Met Éireann has issued fresh wind and rain warnings for much of the county over the weekend.
From 4pm on Saturday, Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo will be placed under a yellow alert for rain, lasting until 4pm on Sunday.
A yellow wind warning will also be extended to Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Donegal, and all counties in Connacht from 9am on Sunday, remaining in place until 9am on Monday.
Status yellow wind warning issued for #Clare, #Cork, #Donegal, #Galway, #Kerry, #Leitrim, #Limerick, #Mayo, #Roscommon & #Sligo
Very strong westerly winds are expected on Sunday & Monday.
Coastal flooding is possible in places 🌬️
Expected Onset: Sunday 20/2/2022 09:00 pic.twitter.com/y8jD4uU1bF— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) February 18, 2022
Electricity
ESB employees around the country are continuing work to restore power to thousands of homes and businesses impacted by Storm Eunice.
Just after 8pm, ESB confirmed approximately 28,000 customers are still without power, stating some will remain without electricity overnight.
According to the ESB Networks website, the majority of the outages remain in the southwest and southeast of the country.
Apologies to 28K customers currently without power. Crews continue to repair the damage to the network this evening & will have a further 16K customers back tonight. Crews will be out at first light to get remaining customers back tomorrow. Updates on https://t.co/GXyuew8I9W pic.twitter.com/sDYet3eIdq
— ESB Networks (@ESBNetworks) February 18, 2022
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A statement from ESB predicted overnight outages will mainly impact customers in parts of south Kerry and west Cork "due to the severity of the damage to the electricity network in the southwest region".
The updated figure shows roughly half of customers have had their power restored, with over 80,000 homes and businesses impacted earlier on Friday.
Information regarding current outages and restoration times can be found on the ESB website.
Co Wexford fatality
A man in Co Wexford has died after it is understood he was hit by a falling tree.
Wexford County Council has confirmed the man was an employee of the council, offering condolences to his family, work colleagues and friends.
Gardaí and emergency services attended the incident on Friday morning in the Ballythomas area in the north of the county.
The man, aged in his 60s, was pronounced dead at the scene and his remains will now be taken to Waterford University Hospital where a post-mortem will be carried out.
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has been notified of the incident and are due to attend the scene.
Travel disruption
Clontarf Road Dart Station has reopened to trains following an inspection of the roof.
Earlier Irish Rail said services would not be stopping at the station due to reports of damage to the roof structure caused by poor weather conditions.
Bus Éireann have confirmed services in Waterford have now resumed, after a similar update was issued for Cork, Kerry and Clare earlier today.
"A small amount of cancellations remain in place," Bus Éireann added, instructing service users to check their website for the latest updates.
Meanwhile, an Aer Lingus flight flying from Shannon Airport to London Heathrow, due to depart at 4.30pm, was cancelled. "Passengers should contact the airline directly for more details," the airport tweeted.
⚠️ Flight Update ⚠️
Aer Lingus Flight EI 386 From Shannon Airport to London Heathrow to depart at 16.30 today has been cancelled. Passengers should contact the airline directly for more details.#StormEunice #StaySafe pic.twitter.com/zmiPKGWDya— Shannon Airport (@ShannonAirport) February 18, 2022
An update from Cork Airport also advised departing passengers and those meeting arriving passengers to "check with their respective airlines for flight information".
The chair for the National Emergency Coordination (NEC) group, Keith Leonard urged people to only make essential journeys during Storm Eunice, and, if possible, to delay travel plans until the bad weather has passed.
A number of routes around the country, especially in Cork and Kerry, are closed because of fallen trees, debris and power lines, Mr Leonard told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland.
The NEC is working closely with local authorities, he added, and warnings will remain in place until lunchtime.
There were a significant number of fallen trees in Cork, Kerry and Clare, he said, but fortunately, the high tide had passed with no incidents. A small number of pumps were utilised in Bantry, Co Cork and flooding had been avoided.
Mr Leonard said there was also significant snowfall in some counties in the northwest, which has caused travel disruptions.
Storm damage
With the worst of the storm seemingly passed, efforts to clear fallen debris began earlier on Friday.
Shortly after midday, Met Éireann tweeted: "As Storm Eunice clears eastwards away from Ireland this afternoon it'll take the strongest and most damaging winds with it.
Cork County Council has shared images of the efforts on Twitter, adding: "We continue to advise road users to be aware of the danger posed by high winds. Driving conditions may be hazardous with surface flooding possible."
1/3⚠️Storm Eunice Update 11.30 am⚠️
🟡Cork County is currently under a Met Éireann a Status Yellow wind and rain warning in effect until 6.00 pm today together with current snow and ice yellow warning in place until 10.00 am tomorrow Saturday 19/02/2022. pic.twitter.com/cagbg3z9JS— Cork County Council (@Corkcoco) February 18, 2022
The council has said clean-up operations will continue into Saturday.
"Motorists are advised to drive with extreme care, while members of the public are asked to be conscious of debris and fallen trees when outdoors," the council tweeted.
Waterford, Cork and Kerry County Councils have tweeted about a number of roads blocked due to fallen trees, with motorists urged to check for updates prior to departure and to be aware of any diversions in place.
Old building near the entrance to Banna Beach has partially collapsed #StormEunice #Kerry pic.twitter.com/PlqV3uVO0e
— Kerry County Council - Comhairle Contae Chiarraí (@countykerry) February 18, 2022
Irish Rail are also offering updates via Twitter, reporting delays to some services in the southwest.
At Shannon Airport, flights are operating with some short delays. "All intending passengers should contact their airline for updates to the schedules," the airport tweeted.
Representatives from Kerry Airport have said all flights are operating as normal, while passengers travelling from Dublin Airport are advised to allow extra time for their journey to the airport.
Medical appointments
Earlier on Friday, the HSE's chief operations officer, Anne O'Connor has advised the public that appointments will go ahead, however, there may be some delays due to Storm Eunice.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio's Morning Ireland, Ms O'Connor said: "We're not going to cancel very much."
She added the HSE did not want the public or staff travelling before 8am, so there would be delays, and the public should not worry if they were going to be late as they will be accommodated.
Ms O'Connor said there would be some cancellations in Co Clare, but overall "we're trying to continue services".
"The last thing we want to do is cancel scheduled services."
At University Hospital Kerry, some catering and maintenance staff remained at the hospital overnight to ensure continuity of service for patients, she added.
If any appointments are going to be cancelled, the HSE will contact the patients, Ms O'Connor assured. Everyone else should assume their appointment was going ahead, she added.
