Northwest Europe affected by Storm Ciarán, a powerful autumn storm
Europe went on high alert today as a storm dubbed Ciarán threatens to bring gale-force winds and extreme rainfall to the region.
Later today, counties Cork, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Wicklow are to fall under a Status Yellow rain warning. Further afield, three French departments – Finistere, Cotes-d’Armor and Manche – will be placed on red storm alert, the highest level, at midnight (23:00 Irish time), national weather agency Meteo-France said.
Two of them will also be placed on maximum flood alert, it added.
A total of 17 departments along the French coast, from the Gironde region to the northern Hauts de France, will be on the lower category orange alert.
In Britain, the meteorological office said there would be bursts of heavy rain, a risk of flooding in some areas and gusts of 60-70 miles per hour along England’s south coast.
In France, the storm was even expected to unleash winds of up to 170 kilometres per hour, notably on the coastlines of Brittany and Normandy in the northwest, Meteo-France forecaster Francois Gourand warned yesterday.
Rainfall could reach 50 millimetres within just six hours in those areas, the weather agency said.
Ciarán is expected to hit Brittany before midnight, with winds of up to 150 kmph on the coast, and 130 kmph inland with a second, more violent, storm phase following some hours later.
