Do not go outside today unless it is absolutely necessary, that's the message from the Gardaí as the most powerful storm to hit Ireland in the past 50 years barrels down on the country.
Hurricane force gusts of wind over 160 km per hour have already started to batter the South West of the country.
Urgent: Met Eireann says stay indoors under the following guidelines: #Ophelia pic.twitter.com/5SLH9VfqZQ
— Richard Chambers🎙 (@newschambers) October 16, 2017
There is a Status Red wind warning in place for all counties and Ophelia is being described as 'violent and destructive.'
The first major power outages have already hit. Over 10,000 homes are now without power.
The storm will hit Cork and Kerry first and will then move inland, affecting all counties across Ireland throughout the rest of the day.
Definetly getting windy in #Killarney #kerry #OPHELIA #StormOphelia #BeSafe pic.twitter.com/C5jFhheGtW
— Tom Randles (@TomRandles1) October 16, 2017
Flooding, storm surges and heavy rain is expected to cause widespread damage and Met Éireann said there is a 'potential risk to life.'
All schools and colleges around the country will remain shut today.
Been in & out of sleep all night,was earily quite,just woke up to insane amount of birds flocked together in Laois.#Ophelia pic.twitter.com/N1ezRnGvwm
— Caoimhe Dunne (@CaoimheDunne) October 16, 2017
The HSE has said all outpatient appointments for today are cancelled, while postal services and court sittings have also been cancelled because of the storm.
Over 120 flights to and from Dublin Airport have been cancelled today
So far all flights are operating as normal but Aer Lingus, British Airways, Air France, CityJet, Emirates and KLM have all cancelled some services later today.
Affected passengers have been contacted directly.
Ryanair says all flights are expected to operate as scheduled.
All air passengers are advised to check their airlines website and social media for latest updates.
Dublin Bus will be running a full service until 10AM, but say services will be severely disrupted from 9AM through to 6PM.
#Ophelia - Dublin Bus services update Monday 16 October https://t.co/0uRvRD7axh pic.twitter.com/25dXnc9EXK
— Dublin Bus (@dublinbusnews) October 16, 2017
Bus Éireann services are cancelled nationwide, until at least 2pm and some Iarnród Éireann services have been disrupted.
If you bought ticket for today & decide not to travel, we'll refund. Also change train time for any other train today for no charge #Ophelia
— Iarnród Éireann (@IrishRail) October 16, 2017
According to the Iarnród Éireann website the following rail service arrangements are in place this morning Monday 16th October due to the weather warnings in place for Hurricane Ophelia.
All DART, Intercity and Commuter services are expected to operate this morning except on the following routes:
- Limerick Junction to Waterford
- Limerick to Ballybrophy via Nenagh
A speed restriction of 80kph (50mph) will be in place on the following routes:
- Tralee to Mallow
- Cork to Charleville
- Cork to Cobh/Midleton
- Waterford to Kilkenny
- Rosslare Europort to Gorey
As a result delays of 15 to 30 minutes are expected to services operating on the following routes for morning services:
- Cork to Dublin
- Tralee to Cork/Dublin
- Waterford to Dublin
- Rosslare Europort to Dublin
