Updated: 9.15am. Additional reporting by Vivienne Clarke.
Stormy conditions continued overnight as another series of weather warnings remained in place for the entire country, with motorists asked to be cautious of fallen trees.
Following Storm Dudley and Eunice last week, during which a man was killed in Co Wexford and thousands were left without power, Storm Franklin swept over Ireland on Sunday and the early hours of Monday, again bringing high winds.
An orange wind warning was issued for counties in the northwest; Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo, beginning at 7pm on Sunday and lasting until 7am on Monday. Meanwhile, a similar warning was issued by the UK Met Office for Antrim, Down, Tyrone and Derry, from midnight to 7am.
Met Éireann spokesperson Deirdre Lowe warned the public to be careful of fallen trees and branches in the wake of Storm Franklin, adding the current yellow warning in place for the entire country until 9am means there could be winds of over 100km/hr in the next few hours.
Ms Lowe told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland that tree roots could have been weakened after three storms in the past few days, making them vulnerable to falling or breakage.
Storm Franklin is now over the north and east of the country, she said, urging commuters to be cautious.
Blocked routes
The director of services with Donegal County Council, Gary Martin, issued a similar warning, stating a number of roads in the county are still blocked due to fallen trees.
Speaking to the same programme, Mr Martin said council crews have been out since first-light attempting to clear roads. He said there has been widespread reports of downed trees, but the full extent of the damage is yet to be determined.
The roads would be cleared as soon as possible, he added.
A further yellow wind warning was also issued for Wexford and Wicklow, extending the earlier warning to midday for the two counties.
Status Yellow Wind warning issued for #Wexford & #Wicklow#StormFranklin will continue, bringing strong winds & severe gusts until midday 🌬️
High seas will lead to wave overtopping & coastal flooding 🌊
For our weather warnings ⬇️https://t.co/Xg3aMJlyuS pic.twitter.com/msbegelNit— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) February 21, 2022
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Met Éireann warned: "Storm Franklin will cause gale force west to northwest winds with severe and damaging gusts.
"These winds combined with very high seas will lead to wave overtopping, which may results in coastal flooding."
ESB Networks has also apologised to customers who are without power, confirming approximately 29,100 homes and businesses were impacted on Monday morning.
According to their power check website, which offers live updates on power outages around the country, the majority of the faults are in the northwest, affecting counties such as Mayo, Sligo and Donegal.
A number of outages are also still noted in the southwest due to damage caused by Storm Eunice.
Apologies to 29,100 customers who are without power following #StormFranklin. Our crews are working to repair the damage and reconnect customers. To report an outage or check estimated restoration times see https://t.co/EU6R9nRfwR. pic.twitter.com/RW0k3N0wec
— ESB Networks (@ESBNetworks) February 21, 2022
On Friday at midday, the ESB confirmed over 80,000 homes were without power nationwide due to the storm, reducing to approximately 28,000 by 8pm that evening. Work to restore the outages continued throughout the weekend.
As the storm is set to pass by midday, conditions are expected to turn brighter and drier into the evening.
However, blustery conditions will return for the remainder of the week, bringing cloud and spells of rain.
