Storm Amy leaves flooding in its wake
STORM Amy blew into the West on Friday last with a top gust of 76mph [106km/h] recorded at the Mace Head weather station in Conamara – leaving pockets of Galway without electricity through parts of the weekend.
However, the biggest legacy of the severe weather conditions on Thursday and Friday last has been flooding, with thousands of acres of farmland across the West under water this week.
Last Thursday, October 2, was our wettest day of the year across the West of Ireland with between 1.5 and two inches of rainfall being measured at different weather stations in Connacht.
Heavy rain, preceding Storm Amy on Friday morning last [almost one inch in Athenry], led to some roads being impassable, with routes closed for a number of hours across parts of Conamara.
There were major traffic delays in Galway City on Friday afternoon after access to Wolfe Tone Bridge [The Claddagh] was closed off due to flooding in Flood Street. Local Authority sports pitches in the city were also closed down last weekend.
Power outages were reported at locations in Conamara and across pockets of North Galway, including Tuam, Abbeyknockmoy, Milltown, Athenry, Clarinbridge and New Inn on Friday and Saturday, with most affected customers having electricity restored by Sunday morning.
Caption: Waves pound over the Salthill Promenade during Storm Amy at Salthill last Friday. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.
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