Statement from Kildare County Council – Storm Isha
Sunday 21st January 2024 11:30am
The Severe Weather Assessment Team for Kildare County Council has been monitoring the weather situation over the past few days and they have participated in multiple briefings with both Met Eireann and the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management.
Met Eireann have indicated that Storm Isha will bring a status yellow wind warning for Kildare until 04:00 on Monday, in addition, there will be an orange wind warning for County Kildare from 17:00 on Sunday until 02:00 on Monday morning. During this period extremely high winds can be expected. An orange wind warning can be a significant event and may constitute a risk to public safety and property. Heavy rain is also anticipated during the period of the storm. The public is advised that during periods of strong winds travelling conditions can be difficult and people should be very careful if they are undertaking any necessary journeys during the storm. High-sided vehicles, cyclists and motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable during this time.
There is a potential for fallen trees and damage to power lines as a result of the storm. Kildare County Council will have outdoor crews available to respond to any incidents after the storm has passed. The Kildare County Council out-of-hours contact number is 1800 500 444.
The public should be mindful of any equipment stored outdoors and items such as trampolines, garden furniture and any building materials. These should be safely secured to prevent them being affected by any high winds.
Where powerlines are down the public is reminded not to approach any fallen or low-hanging power lines as they may still be live. All incidents of damaged power lines should be reported to ESB networks. The ESB out-of-hours contact number is 1800 372 999. Where power outages occur please use the PowerCheck App to check for reconnection times.
