More than 30,000 homes and businesses remain without power after Storm Franklin hit the island of Ireland.
It is the third storm to pass over the island in recent days, after Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice wreaked havoc.
This latest storm brought coastal flooding and fallen trees to parts of the island once again, with the north and north-west most affected.
Met Eireann said gusts of more than 130kph were recorded in Co Galway and Co Donegal.
Very windy with some severe gusts, but easing through the morning while scattered showers in the NE gradually die out ?⚠️
By late morning it will be dry & bright for most but cloud will extend into the west this afternoon, followed by outbreaks of rain ?️
Highs of 7 to 11°C ?️ pic.twitter.com/2HRApJXPCe
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) February 21, 2022
Status orange wind warnings issued for parts of the north and north-west have now lifted, while a yellow wind warning for the entirety of the Republic of Ireland expired at 9am.
A yellow wind warning remains in place until midday for the counties of Wicklow and Wexford on the east coast of the island.
Storm Franklin, coming in the wake of two other major storms, left homes and businesses across the island without power.
ESB confirmed on Monday morning that just over 29,000 customers were without power in the wake of the storm in the Republic, while Northern Ireland Electricity Networks confirmed that just under 3,000 customers remain cut off.
❗️TREE DOWN ❗️on the road behind Cloonamahan. Our outdoor crew are en route to remove.#StormFranklin #StaySafe @OceanFmIreland @aaroadwatch pic.twitter.com/FKFEZmfVgV
— Sligo County Council (@sligococo) February 21, 2022
Electricity crews and local council staff are assessing the extent of the damage, with the worst conditions set to ease later on Monday morning.
Parts of the country were still clearing up after Storm Eunice when the latest storm hit.
Sligo County Council had made the decision in advance to close certain coastal roads, as well as the popular Strandhill promenade, due to fears of flooding at high tide.
Apologies to 29,100 customers who are without power following #StormFranklin. Our crews are working to repair the damage and reconnect customers. To report an outage or check estimated restoration times see https://t.co/EU6R9nRfwR. pic.twitter.com/RW0k3N0wec
— ESB Networks (@ESBNetworks) February 21, 2022
Brian Tapley, from ESB, said on Monday that crews had been working since first light and hoped to restore power to all customers by tonight.
“Our technicians have been nearly three or four days at this now. So fatigue is something we have to be mindful of as well,” he told RTE radio.
“It makes the impacts more risky. Structures have been weakened, tree roots have been weakened. There was a lot of fallen trees this morning, particularly in Donegal and Sligo.
“Certainly, one storm coming in after another. It’s due to a very strong jet stream over Ireland, which has persisted in the past week,” she told RTE radio.
She also warned that the country could see snow and sleet in the days to come.
