Ireland Hurricane Ophelia Check In October 15, 2017 10:03 PM Subscribe
Thought there might should be one of these. Ophelia was a cyclone, tempest, a God damned hurricane. And she's bearing down on Ireland. Should be a little weaker, but MeFis, stay safe!
I'm in Dublin where the stay-indoors warning is from 13:00, so it's just a bit windy. Luckily, I had the day off anyway and an ankle sprain, and my partner has been told to work from home. I'm sure we will be fine.
Best to the southern and western Mefites. Stay safe.
posted by carbide at 12:00 AM on October 16, 2017
Best to the southern and western Mefites. Stay safe.
posted by carbide at 12:00 AM on October 16, 2017
I'm in the midlands, we're not expecting it to be too bad, but I've decided to take the day off work anyway. Don't want to risk a tree down.
So far its windy here, but nothing out of the ordinary. Mid afternoon is when we're due to be hit I think.
posted by Fence at 1:42 AM on October 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
So far its windy here, but nothing out of the ordinary. Mid afternoon is when we're due to be hit I think.
posted by Fence at 1:42 AM on October 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
In Belfast most places seem to be closing at 1. This has worked out well for me as an ex-colleague's funeral is at 1.30 and my boss said I couldn't get time off as I had to go to a meeting. Now the meeting is cancelled. #every(storm)cloud
It's still fairly calm here, though the sky has turned a weird colour and the wind is picking up a bit, and we're all saying as always when the weather service get their knickers in a twist it'll probably turn out to be a storm in a teacup. Fingers crossed...
posted by billiebee at 2:27 AM on October 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
It's still fairly calm here, though the sky has turned a weird colour and the wind is picking up a bit, and we're all saying as always when the weather service get their knickers in a twist it'll probably turn out to be a storm in a teacup. Fingers crossed...
posted by billiebee at 2:27 AM on October 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
In the East Midlands of England, so a few hundred miles east, and the weather here is weird. It's like it can't decide whether to be a high summer hot day, or a blowy deep autumn one, so it's trying to be both at the same time.
posted by Wordshore at 2:37 AM on October 16, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Wordshore at 2:37 AM on October 16, 2017 [6 favorites]
Dublin is sheltered geographically from the worst of it, so just expecting strong storm conditions here, which aren't that unusual in this country. All schools, colleges, and public transport have been cancelled for the day anyway.
Keeping an eye on this webcam from Galway city centre -- doesn't seem too serious so far. It's due to pick up in the next hour, so I guess we'll wait and see. I have my hand-crank radio/torch/phone charger at the ready just in case.
Here's the ESB's current advice on when and where to call .
RTE are good for news updates too.
posted by rollick at 4:07 AM on October 16, 2017
Keeping an eye on this webcam from Galway city centre -- doesn't seem too serious so far. It's due to pick up in the next hour, so I guess we'll wait and see. I have my hand-crank radio/torch/phone charger at the ready just in case.
Here's the ESB's current advice on when and where to call .
RTE are good for news updates too.
posted by rollick at 4:07 AM on October 16, 2017
Some of the more popular links on my facebook feed:
A map of global wind, and another one
Met Eireann home page.
The Irish Coast Guard advise people to stay away from the coast, and ring emergency services if you see someone in difficulty out at sea:
HSE Statement regarding Met Eireann Red Weather warning (appointments cancelled, scheduled procedures may still be going ahead, but check).
Irish Weather Online is a detailed source of actual weather analysis.
And last but not least: "DON'T MAKE UNNECESSARY JOURNEYS" (previously)
posted by rollick at 4:31 AM on October 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
A map of global wind, and another one
Met Eireann home page.
The Irish Coast Guard advise people to stay away from the coast, and ring emergency services if you see someone in difficulty out at sea:
Below is the latest update from the National Emergency Coordination Group. The Coast Guard strongly advises the public to stay away from exposed beaches, cliffs and piers, harbour walls and promenades along the coast tomorrow.
Remember to Stay Back, Stay High and Stay Dry.
If you see someone in difficulty in the sea, on the shore dial 999/112 and ask for the Coast Guard.
Statement from the National Emergency Coordination Group on Severe Weather
HSE Statement regarding Met Eireann Red Weather warning (appointments cancelled, scheduled procedures may still be going ahead, but check).
Irish Weather Online is a detailed source of actual weather analysis.
And last but not least: "DON'T MAKE UNNECESSARY JOURNEYS" (previously)
posted by rollick at 4:31 AM on October 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
Someone has died in the South. It's really picked up here. Wind is strong, power outages in some places. We're going into a reception for the funeral in a pub which is only open because he worked there part time - everywhere else is shut. Maybe not the best idea as not sure the buses will be running by time we're leaving. But I need a drink.
posted by billiebee at 7:11 AM on October 16, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by billiebee at 7:11 AM on October 16, 2017 [7 favorites]
Hope everyone is staying safe and dry!
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:35 PM on October 16, 2017
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:35 PM on October 16, 2017
Have family in the East, they seem to have fared OK and the chickens didn't get blown away. Over here everyone in the office was excited about the weird sky. It was orangey and unusually dark, like when there's a partial eclipse.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:59 PM on October 16, 2017
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:59 PM on October 16, 2017
I've got a friend in Bandon, any word how things fared there?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:53 PM on October 16, 2017
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:53 PM on October 16, 2017
IrishCentral: Irish dark humor’s time to shine on “Bank Holiday Ophelia”
Don’t miss the weather forecast.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:28 AM on October 17, 2017
Don’t miss the weather forecast.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:28 AM on October 17, 2017
In Wicklow and the worst of the destruction we suffered was from a five year old and a three year old trapped inside the house because schools and pre-schools were shut for two days.
To be fair, the government and Met Eireann did a great job of getting people to stay indoors during the storm itself. A huge amount of trees down and there could have been more than three fatalities if schools and businesses had remained open.
posted by Elmore at 3:11 PM on October 17, 2017
To be fair, the government and Met Eireann did a great job of getting people to stay indoors during the storm itself. A huge amount of trees down and there could have been more than three fatalities if schools and businesses had remained open.
posted by Elmore at 3:11 PM on October 17, 2017
I've got a friend in Bandon, any word how things fared there?
My sister lives in Cork. Massive amount of trees down. Power outages all over the place. Roofs blown off schools (which were shut) and sheds and trampolines flying around the place. No serious injuries or loss of life thankfully. Might take a few days to get power back up everywhere, but that's the worst of it. She was back in work today, schools are back open tomorrow. I hope your friend didn't suffer any worse than that.
posted by Elmore at 3:15 PM on October 17, 2017
My sister lives in Cork. Massive amount of trees down. Power outages all over the place. Roofs blown off schools (which were shut) and sheds and trampolines flying around the place. No serious injuries or loss of life thankfully. Might take a few days to get power back up everywhere, but that's the worst of it. She was back in work today, schools are back open tomorrow. I hope your friend didn't suffer any worse than that.
posted by Elmore at 3:15 PM on October 17, 2017
What Elmore said. Schools and offices closed Monday; schools also closed Tuesday. We were lucky and had no problems; all our utilities remained intact except for a few electrical flickers. We were also lucky in that it was supposed to hit squarely here in Cork but veered up the coast and battered Galway instead.
What really made the difference was the lack of rain. We've had windier, worse weather events before but what really cripples this joint is flooding from the rain that almost always goes with them. (As you can imagine, on an island nation, quite a bit of it is coastal.) So the wind did take down trees and the trees took out power lines, but the lack of enormous rainfall meant there was minimal flooding, and we don't have the massive disruption to water services we've had before.
Three people did lose their lives; one important lesson from this is "do not attempt to chain saw felled trees in the middle of a hurricane." Observation of this would have brought the death count down to two.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:16 AM on October 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
What really made the difference was the lack of rain. We've had windier, worse weather events before but what really cripples this joint is flooding from the rain that almost always goes with them. (As you can imagine, on an island nation, quite a bit of it is coastal.) So the wind did take down trees and the trees took out power lines, but the lack of enormous rainfall meant there was minimal flooding, and we don't have the massive disruption to water services we've had before.
Three people did lose their lives; one important lesson from this is "do not attempt to chain saw felled trees in the middle of a hurricane." Observation of this would have brought the death count down to two.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:16 AM on October 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
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posted by mrbenn at 10:50 PM on October 15, 2017 [2 favorites]