Mayo public urged to exercise 'extreme caution' during Storm Amy weather warning

Due to the onset of Storm Amy, a Status Orange Wind Warning will come into effect for County Mayo from 2pm until 10pm today, Friday, October 3rd.

A Yellow Wind Warning will be in place earlier in the day from 12pm noon and once the Orange Wind Warning expires the Yellow Wind Warning will remain in situ until 12pm (Mid-day) on Saturday, October 4th.

A Red Marine Warning will also be in place for Mayo from 2pm until 8pm on Friday, October 3rd, with an Orange Marine Warning in place from 12pm today to 12am (Midnight) on Friday, October 4th, either side of the Red Marine Warning.

Chief Executive of Mayo County Council Kevin Kelly said: “Mayo County Council are urging the public to exercise extreme caution during the period the Orange Wind and Red Marine Warnings are in effect.

“The Council will continuously monitor the outcomes of Storm Amy and will have response teams on standby to respond to incidents if they arise.

“Our main concern is public safety and Mayo County Council will continue to offer advice and updates through our social media channels and on our website at www.mayo.ie” 

The public are advised to limit travel to essential journeys and shelter in place as much as possible, during the weather warning, and if travel is necessary, take additional care when driving and lookout for pedestrians and cyclists The forecasted winds have the capacity to bring severe, destructive and damaging gusts and the public are urged be aware of the dangers of fallen trees and power lines around the County.

Members of the public are advised to stay away from coastal areas during this period as there is a potential for wave overtopping and tidal flooding in low-lying, exposed Atlantic coastal areas.

In addition to this, Storm Amy may also bring localised heavy showers, which in turn may lead to localised surface flooding, which may prevail into Saturday.

Meanwhile, ESB Networks crews and partner contractors around the country have been making the necessary preparations in advance of the high winds, with teams mobilised. We continually monitor the forecasts and real time events on the electricity network and will deploy our crews to restore supply when it is safe to do so.

ESB Networks crews will assess the full damage of Storm Amy, making the network safe and restoring electricity supply – and switching customers back remotely where possible. They will update power estimated restoration times as soon as we have assessed the network, and these will be available to view on www.PowerCheck.ie.