Image: CBS News"I think we are looking at an event tonight, which will be a national event, it will be an event that people will remember.''
Former Professor of Geography at Maynooth University John Sweeney is urging the public to take the weather warnings for Storm Lorenzo seriously, as the country prepares for treacherous conditions this evening.
Speaking to RTÉ this morning the Prof. Sweeney said: "The tropical storm is following the same trajectory as Storm Ophelia two years ago and it will be one that people will remember".
The message is to be careful about going near the coast and to take care on the roads, he said.
"I think we are looking at an event tonight, which will be a national event, it will be an event that people will remember.''
''The hurricane is now of course no longer a hurricane but an extra tropical storm, but it's a very deep one and it will make landfall somewhere around north Mayo around late this evening.''
“It will dissipate as it moves east across Ireland and the UK but it will bring quite dangerous conditions especially across the west coast over the next 12 hours."
Ireland will have to be prepared for these kind of events as they become more common, he added.
"As we go through global climate change and as the Atlantic warms up and as these hurricanes formerly headed off into the Caribbean and into the eastern seaboard of the United States, they now begin to find warmer waters to the east of the Atlantic and their trajectory towards Europe is likely to become more common."
If you've ever wanted to know more about storms like #Lorenzo check out Episode 3 of The Met Éireann Podcast. We talk to the National Hurricane Centre in Florida about how these storms develop, what it's like to fly thru one & why they cause so much damagehttps://t.co/ER4DSMK4ZE pic.twitter.com/aSFBOckWCB
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) October 2, 2019
Warnings.
Currently there is an orange warning for damaging winds with gusts of up to 130km/h for Galway, Mayo, Clare, Kerry and Limerick valid from 6pm this evening.
Meanwhile all of Ireland has received a status yellow warning for disruptive winds with gusts of up to 100km/h also valid from 6pm this evening.
Our warnings for #Lorenzo have been issued.
All warnings can be viewed here:https://t.co/ozrQHtoOkt
An explanation of our warning levels can be found here:https://t.co/Cr9ukyJgun
Our Meteorologist's Commentary has been updated and can be viewed here:https://t.co/ktXtWjbfIg pic.twitter.com/QhemlD7hX5
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) October 2, 2019
Connacht, Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal have also received a status yellow rain warning valid now until 6am tomorrow.
