Storm alert leads to closure of public parks in Carlow

Carlow Town Park, Oak Park Forest Park and Tullow Town Park are closing for the next 24 hours.

Carlow County Council have made the call to shut them until 8am on Wednesday with a yellow weather warning in place for Storm Barra.

#StormBarra has arrived with gusts in excess of 100kmh already on the South coast and heavy rain pushing across the country. Weather warnings are on operation now, please take care. pic.twitter.com/Uac5WPppFb

— Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) December 7, 2021

It’s due to to bring winds of over 110 kilometres per hour locally today.

But there’s orange level alerts in neighbouring counties like Waterford Wexford and Wicklow, while Kerry Cork and Clare have a red warning in effect and people asked not to go out unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Schools and colleges in the 12 counties on orange and red alerts are to close for the day.

Storm Barra will make itself felt in Kilkenny early in the morning with strong winds & rain. Southerly winds will stay strong well into the evening with peak gusts over 100 kph in south of the county. After a brief lull the winds will veer westerly & increase again by midnight. pic.twitter.com/thdYy2OGxG

— Kilkenny Weather (@kilkennyweather) December 6, 2021

Niall Dollard from Kilkenny Weather dot com says this one won’t be over quickly so batten down the hatches and settle in:

“It’s a bit of an unusual storm in that it’s going to last a while. Normally storms barrel in from the Atlantic and then they’re gone. But this one is going to be a bit of a lingerer”.

Carlow Road Safety Officer John McDarby says there could be dangerous winds and spot flooding locally so think about whether you really have to go out before making any travel plans today.

While Tim Butler from Kilkenny county council says the road conditions locally could be very dangerous:

“People should expect significant wind, and significant surface water on the roads and adjust their driving accordingly”.