Ireland on Fergus Storm Alert; Tornado rips roofs off houses in Leitrim village; capsizes boats in river

Storm Fergus hit Ireland after Storm Elin, with much of the country now on status yellow alert.

village of Leitrim

In the village of Leitrim, the storm ripped off roofs from houses and overturned boats in the river. People were left homeless, but fortunately no one was seriously injured, and debris was blown around Leitrim Village by the storm.

village of Leitrim

Gardai have asked people to evacuate Leitrim village after Tornado rips roofs off houses in Leitrim village. 

Footage filmed 2.5km from Leitrim Village today by Martina Kiely at 12:34. She reports seeing debris flying in the air before she began recording the tornado. pic.twitter.com/VwkBWkYxSP

— Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) December 10, 2023

All but excempt four counties were under some form of alert today as Hurricane Fergus made landfall. There is a possibility of strong winds and flooding along the coast and sea. There are power outages in some counties. MET ÉIREANN has issued several weather warnings today,

#BREAKING :--Just in ---Overturned boats in Leitirm Village this afternoon after a tornado quickly moved through the area causing some serious damage. #LeitrimVillag
#StrongWinds
#ireland #stormfergus #leitrim #weather #CrilateCrisis #Destruction #WeatherChange pic.twitter.com/PQZ9noOv6C

— EUROPE CENTRAL (@Ddhirajk) December 10, 2023

The orange warning for Galway, Mayo and Clare ended at 8pm this afternoon. A yellow warning is in place for Clare, Kerry, Galway, Mayo and Tipperary until 9pm. Galway has gusts of up to 85 km/h.

Salthill  Carpark, Galway

A yellow wind warning has been issued for Cavan, Leish, Leitrim, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Roscommon and Sligo and will last until 9pm.

A status yellow wind warning was also in place for counties Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow until 5pm, ending at 11pm. A status yellow wind warning was also in place for County Cork until 6pm. Thunderstorm warnings ended at 6pm for Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath.

Tornado ripping through Leitrim Village this afternoon! 😲 pic.twitter.com/l34OQ3dzkd

— Kildare Weather (@KildareMet) December 10, 2023

The Road Safety Authority has issued instructions to drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. In wet weather motorists are advised to slow down and allow more braking distance between themselves and the vehicle in front. Pedestrians are advised to walk on the right side of the road and face traffic if there is no footpath and take extra care when crossing the road due to strong winds.