Storm Ophelia draws nearer and, like some deranged stalker, the more we find out about her, the more terrifying she becomes. Counties Limerick, Wexford and Waterford have been added to the red warning list, bringing the total number of counties on the list to eight; the others being Kerry, Cork, Galway, Mayo, Clare.
Several Irish universities and colleges in these areas have announced that they will be closed tomorrow and will remain so until the storm has passed after an emergency Met Éireann meeting this morning.
University of Limerick, Mary Immaculate College, Cork IT and GMIT have announced that they will not open tomorrow while NUIG and UCC have said that they will make decisions this evening as to whether they will proceed as usual for tomorrow. Keep an eye on their Twitter accounts for more information
Decision has now been taken to CLOSE UL tomorrow - no access for public - residents will be supported by security teams
— UniversityofLimerick (@UL) October 15, 2017
#GMITnews Four GMIT campuses to close tomorrow, Monday, 16th October due to weather warning #Ophelia https://t.co/W0acfZtUlR pic.twitter.com/2D6pXbPJVW
— GMIT (@GMITOfficial) October 15, 2017
Advertisement
MIC, Limerick & Thurles will be closed tomorrow Mon 16 Oct due to #Ophelia in line with Red Alert status.#BeSafe
— MIC_Limerick (@MICLimerick) October 15, 2017
CIT will be closed tomorrow Monday 16th October 2017 due to storm. More information: https://t.co/aadb3yDeYX
— CIT (@CIT_ie) October 15, 2017
The #Ophelia storm situation is under review & a decision will be made at 7pm. Please check back for an update @ 7pm @NUIGSU @NUIGalwayPress
— NUI Galway (@nuigalway) October 15, 2017
Advertisement
With regards the closure of UCC due to the impending storm, we won't know for definite until after a conference call this evening #Stormzy
— Martin Scally- SU (@UCCSUPresident) October 15, 2017
The government have ordered that all schools in affected counties remain closed tomorrow after Met Éireann held an emergency meeting this morning to discuss how best to cope with Ophelia.
There will also be severe effects on travel due to the storm. KLM have already cancelled all their Irish based flights for tomorrow and every major Irish airport is advising passengers to check with their airline before heading out to see if their flight has been cancelled. Irish Ferries and Stena Line have already cancelled most of their ferry sailings tomorrow to. Anyone considering travelling by hot-air balloon also, I'd sincerely advise against it.
Things really seem to be going full 'Day After Tomorrow' for this. While it's easy to jump for joy and celebrate a no doubt welcome and surprising day off, for the love of god keep yo'selves safe people. Gusty Ophelia is not to be trifled with.
