DONEGAL County Council has issued a warning ahead of the arrival of Storm Aiden which will bring very strong winds tomorrow. Earlier today Met Éireann escalated the wind warning that was in place for Donegal from status yellow to orange. Storm Aiden will bring strong southwest to west winds which will reach mean speeds of 65 to 80km/h, with severe and damaging gusts of 100 to 130km/h. It will remain in force from 8am until 4pm tomorrow afternoon.
Donegal County Council’s Severe Weather Assessment Team is monitoring the situation and will provide additional updates if conditions deteriorate further.
A Council spokesperson said: “As this has now been upgraded to a status orange event it has the potential to cause harm. Property owners / occupiers are asked to prepare themselves for the bad weather, e.g. ensuring that all garden furniture and outdoor play items such as goal posts, trampolines etc. are stowed away securely so as to prevent them being blown away and becoming a hazard to road users and members of the public.
“Motorists are being asked to take extra care while driving, particularly with high-sided vehicles which are vulnerable to strong gusting winds. Beach goers and walkers along exposed coasts should be aware that there will be instances of extremely high wave activity during this period and are asked to remain vigilant and to heed the Irish Coast Guard’s advice to ‘stay back, stay high and stay dry’.”
Donegal County Council can be contacted during normal business hours on 074 91 53900 or, in the event of an out-of-hours emergency, the Council’s Road Service can be contacted on 074 91 72288. For emergencies requiring the assistance of the Fire Service please call 999 or 112.
You can keep up to date on conditions by signing up for free alerts to your phone by registering at www.mapalerter.com/donegal or by following Donegal County Council on Facebook or on Twitter.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)