Storm tracker: Agnes forecast to cause disruption across Republic and Northern Ireland

Storm Agnes has made landfall on the Island of Ireland.

The first named storm of the season by the Met Office was to hit Northern Ireland from around midday with yellow wind and rain weather warnings in effect through the day.

Southern parts of the island have already been hit with the full force of the storm and videos and pictures shared on social media show trees down and people struggling in flood water.

Storm Agnes, which was described as “intensifying quickly” in the Atlantic during Tuesday evening, is expected to generate winds of up to 75mph and cause dangerous conditions along coastlines, especially Irish Sea coastlines.

Its main impact will be strong winds and large waves.

Strong winds were reported in Co Cork at 9am, with the storm expected to arrive in Northern Ireland at lunchtime. Both Met Eireann and the Met Office have warned of the possibility of disruption to travel.

In the Republic of Ireland a status orange wind warning is in place in several counties. A status yellow warning for rain is also in place across large areas. In Northern Ireland a yellow warning for rain is in place until 8pm on Wednesday, with a yellow warning for high winds. The Met Office has warned this could lead to an increased risk of flooding as the storm continues to push north and east. Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “We are likely to potentially see some damaging winds, the possibility of some brief power interruptions, particularly in Irish sea coastal areas.“

So Northern Ireland, north-west England, west Wales, and south-west Scotland, that’s where we’ll probably see gusts of up to 75mph (Wednesday) afternoon, (Wednesday) evening, that’s when the peak of the winds will be and then Storm Agnes will move across Scotland clearing away from Shetland through Thursday morning.”

He added: “In addition to the winds, there’s going to be some large waves as well, so some big stormy seas, and therefore there might well be some coastal flooding where the waves break on to promenades and on to coastal roads.”

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