Schools all over the country should open as normal on Thursday following two days of closures due to Storm Barra, the Department of Education has advised.
Schools and educational institutions in counties that were under red or orange weather warnings had been advised to remain shut on Wednesday.
Schools in Dublin, Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Limerick, Clare, Galway, Mayo and Wexford were affected by the advice.
The decision to close schools was taken due to the potential for storm damage to school buildings. Some universities in affected counties opened on Wednesday anyway due to the orange warnings coming to an end.
Trinity College Dublin announced the campus is “open as normal”, with all activities resuming, while University College Cork said it was reopening with “immediate effect”.
Yellow Wind warnings have been extended this afternoon as #StormBarra gradually moves away from Ireland.
There is a continued risk of fallen trees, large coastal waves and difficult driving conditions so continue to stay aware ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Warning details ℹ️ https://t.co/Xg3aMJlyuS pic.twitter.com/N0Tn93EGLRAdvertisement— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 8, 2021
Storm Barra will be over by 5pm on Wednesday, the head of forecasting at Met Éireann has said, as the country moves into the “tail end” of the extreme weather event.
The storm brought severe winds throughout Tuesday night, with the worst of the weather in the north and northwest of the country.
By Wednesday morning, most of the severe warnings had been lifted, with the exception of Donegal, where an orange warning remained in place until 2pm.
The county experienced severe or damaging gusts of 100-130km/h, with localised stronger winds likely.
A yellow wind warning, which was due to be in place for the entire country until 6pm, has been lifted for several counties.
The warning remains in place for Dublin, Louth, Meath, Wicklow, Mayo until 4pm.
A separate status yellow wind warning is also in place in Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo until 6pm.
Met Éireann said rain would mainly affect the northern half of the country, which would possibly turn to sleet and snow for a time. Temperatures will be between four and seven degrees.
