Met Éireann warns of damaging gusts and power cuts as Storm Kathleen bears down on Ireland

A senior forecaster at Met Éireann is warning of "dangerous conditions" across the country relating to Storm Kathleen hits which is due to batter much of the county at the weekend.

Storm Kathleen, which is the 11th named storm since last September, is a "significant low-pressure system" tracking off the west coast which will bring strong southerly winds and damaging gusts across the country on Saturday.

Status orange warnings have been issued for Cork, Kerry, Galway and Mayo while status yellow warnings have been issued for every other county.

Commenting ahead of the arrival of Storm Kathleen, Liz Coleman, deputy head of forecasting at Met Éireann, appealed to those travelling on Saturday to exercise caution: “It is the end of the Easter holidays so there will be a lot of people travelling and they may not be expecting such unseasonably strong and gusty winds. Please make sure to plan your journeys in advance by keeping in contact with the forecast."

Ms Coleman says it's likely that some trees will be knocked due to the saturated soils and strong winds. "There will be dangerous conditions at sea too, coupled with wave overtopping and coastal flooding in some areas," she added.

Storm Kathleen will bring gale force southerly winds, with some severe and damaging gusts️

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— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) April 4, 2024

According to Met Éireann, Storm Kathleen will increase water levels on all coasts as a period of spring tides is approaching.  This, it says, will result in strong coastal winds, a rough sea state and significant waves. 

The rain associated with Storm Kathleen will fall on already saturated ground, therefore water will make its way quickly into the rivers. Cumulative rainfall totals could lead to elevated river levels in western and southwestern areas.

The potential impacts of Storm Kathleen are likely to include very difficult travel conditions, fallen trees, some power outages, coastal flooding and wave overtopping.