Batten down the hatches!

A MET Éireann orange weather alert has been issued for Galway and Mayo – as well as four Munster counties – as Storm Lorenzo looks set to batter the western seaboard from this evening (Thursday) through to the early hours of Friday morning.

Gardaí and local authority officials have advised the public to stay indoors and also to keep off the roads from around 6pm this evening until  at least 4am on Friday morning with gusts of up to 80mph predicted.

According to the USA’s National Hurricane Centre, Lorenzo will still retain hurricane characteristic – wind speeds of up 74mph – until it comes within a few hundred kilometres of the West Coast, when it is expected to drop down to storm status.

On Wednesday morning, Met Éireann issued a Status Orange wind warning for Galway, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Cork and Kerry, predicting mean wind speeds of 40/50mph and gusts of up to 81mph.

By Wednesday evening, the National Hurricane Centre had predicted that the storm would track in from the Atlantic over Galway, Mayo, South Donegal and North Clare, with a 90% chance of Tropical Force winds (39mph+ over a one-minute period) in that area.

Met Éireann have also issued a Status Yellow rain alert for all of the country with the Norwegian Weather Service predicting possible rainfall amounts of between 14mms. and 20mms.

Special alerts have also been issued to vulnerable coastal regions with Met Éireann warning that storm surges could result in coastal flooding and damage.

Galway City Council Chief Executive, Brendan McGrath, told the Connacht Tribune said that the Council had a full contingency plan in place while overtopping was likely in the Prom area of Salthill with a danger from debris.

“We would urge everyone to take the utmost caution during the course of the storm from Thursday evening through to Friday morning.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.