Urgent road safety appeal to motorists as Storm Kathleen bears down on Ireland

Ahead of the arrival of Storm Kathleen this weekend, the Road Safety Authority is appealing to all road users to exercise caution if travelling.

A number of weather warnings have been issued by Met Éireann for Saturday, including status orange warnings for five counties.

"Storm Kathleen will bring gale force southerly winds, with some severe and damaging gusts," states the warning which adds that possible impacts will include very difficult travel conditions, fallen trees, some power outages, coastal flooding and wave overtopping.

Status orange wind warnings for Cork, Kerry and Waterford will come into effect at 7am on Saturday with similar warnings taking effect in Mayo and Galway from 9am.

A status yellow wind warning will be in place for the whole of Ireland between 5am and 8pm Saturday and Met Eireann says updates may be issued later this Friday and the path of Storm Kathleen becomes clearer.

Road users in areas affected by status orange warnings are advised to check local traffic and weather conditions before setting out on a journey.

⚠️Orange weather warning updated ⚠️

Status Orange - Wind warning for Cork, Kerry and Waterford
Valid : 07:00 Saturday to 14:00 Saturday

Status Orange - Wind warning for Galway and Mayo
Valid: 09:00 Saturday to 18:00 Saturday

Keep up to date here⬇️https://t.co/t2JoveRUyC pic.twitter.com/PTOdsUGohB

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) April 5, 2024

According to Met Éireann meteorologist Mark Bowe, Western counties will experience the strongest of the winds when Storm hits on Saturday morning.

He said that once the storm passes, it is "going to remain unsettled" for a number of days.

"We will see some downed trees and there'll be some power outages, there'll be plenty of debris on the roads as well, so with very difficult travel conditions," he said.