AROUND 29,000 homes and premises are without power as a result of Storm Franklin, with a Status Yellow wind warning being issued for two counties.
Storm Franklin brought winds of up to 130km an hour to parts of the country with the north-west being the most affected.
ESB Networks says crews are working to repair the damage and reconnect customers, particularly in counties Sligo and Donegal.
Met Éireann is forecasting very windy conditions this morning with strong to near gale force northwesterly winds and sever gusts.
A Status Orange wind warning for Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo expired at 7am, while a Status Yellow wind warning for the whole country lifted at 9am.
Counties Wexford and Wicklow remain under a Status Yellow wind warning until midday, with strong winds and sever gusts expected.
The local Gardai have been on to let me know there are multiple trees and poles down across West Clare… please stay at home, and don’t drive unless it’s an emergency.
#StormFranklin pic.twitter.com/O5zswT1NVn— Cllr. Cillian Murphy (@Tri2bResponsibl) February 20, 2022
Met Éireann Meteorologist Deirdre Lowe said the storm is now moving into the North Sea.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said much colder temperatures are expected midweek.
"We are expecting a plunge of cold air to come down after a cold front clears through on Wednesday evening and Wednesday night," she said.
"At this stage, we could get some sleet and snow showers and some possible accumulations of snow, particularly in high ground."
She also said there is "still potential" for strong winds for the next couple of hours that could see gusts in excess of 100km/h.
She explained that the strongest winds occurred near to the west and north coast overnight in Mace Head in Galway.
Also speaking on the show, director of emergency services with Donegal County Council Gary Martin said there is quite a number trees down in areas including South Donegal and Inishowen.
"The crews have been out since first light and we're still collating information. As soon as we possible can the roads will be cleared this morning," he said.
"We've had substantial amounts of flooding in localised areas across Saturday and Sunday and our crews were out overnight across Saturday and Sunday as well and we had fire crews out responding to flooding events as well."
Northern Ireland similarly remains under a Status Yellow wind warning until 1pm.
Storm Franklin follows on from Storms Dudley and Eunice last week, with the quick succession in which they occurred being called "unusual" by Met Éireann.
Later in the week it is expected that weather conditions will turn rather cold with sleet and possible snow on higher ground and with temperatures dropping to -2C and only reaching a potential high of 1C.
See More: Met Eireann, Storm Franklin
