A status orange wind warning is in place in Dublin this morning as Storm Barra hits.
Severe or damaging gusts could reach 130 km/h with schools and colleges in the capital shut.
Eight parks in Dublin City have been closed because of high winds from Storm Barra.
Merrion Square, Patricks Park, Saint Kevin’s Park, Anna Livia, Croppies Acre, Audeons Park, the Peace Park and Mountjoy Square are closed today.
Due to the strong winds associated with Storm Barra, we have made the decision to close the following parks: Merrion Sq Park, Patricks Park, St kevins Park, Anna livia, Croppies acre, Audeons park, Peace Park and Mountjoy sq.
— DCCParksBiodiversity (@DCCParksBiodiv) December 7, 2021
Meanwhile Irish Rail staff are having to physically keep level crossing barriers in place at Lansdowne Road to allow trains pass safely in the high winds.
Our team on site physically keeping barriers in place during high winds at Lansdowne Road to allow trains to safely pass #StormBarra 👏👏👏 https://t.co/X6ioGBvO30 pic.twitter.com/obPxaDMszO
— Iarnród Éireann #StaySafe (@IrishRail) December 7, 2021
Met Éireann says due to a combination of high waves, storm surge and high tide, coastal flooding is expected and that disruption to power and travel are likely.
The warning for Dublin and a number of other counties will last until 1pm.
🚨#StormBarra will bring disruptive weather to Ireland on Tuesday and Wednesday, with impacts from severe, damaging winds 🌬️ as well as heavy rain 🌧️ 🚨#Wind and #rain warnings are in place across Ireland ⚠️
Read more in our #StormBarra news story ℹ️📰 https://t.co/jZZxcE5Nup pic.twitter.com/46Ae3iyOTb
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 6, 2021
Motorists are being told to only head out in the capital if it's absolutely essential.
Coastal car parks, including Clontarf and Sandymount, have closed. While the flood gates along the River Dodder have been shut.
.@MetEireann has issued a national weather warning. We will be monitoring the situation & will deploy additional resources as necessary. Details below ⬇️ There may be dangerous conditions at sea and at coastal areas and our advice is to avoid these areas during #StormBarra pic.twitter.com/WBGoVQE0oJ
— Dublin City Council (@DubCityCouncil) December 6, 2021
A red wind warning has taken effect in Cork and Kerry.
Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather says the whole country will feel the effects of the storm;
"The centre of the storm will pass into the west coast with the strongest of the winds initially on the south west"
He says; "the winds will really increase across the country through the morning and into this afternoon."
