Storm Amy

Amy sounds so benign, but this one is anything but. Yesterday I drove to Galway, which may have been the epicentre of the rain event that preceded the arrival of Amy. The storm developed in the North Atlantic due to interactions between the remnants of Hurricanes Humberto and Imelda and a strong jet stream. I have never seen so much rain falling out of the sky, flooding roads and fields. Driving was pretty treacherous, but I made it to my periodontal appointment and even picked up a painting I bought at Dolan's Art Auction. 

The rain stats for yesterday were as follows:

• Furnace 27.6 mm - 15.7C
• Knock  37.3 mm - 14.6C
• Claremorris 46.4 mm - 15.2C
• Athenry  41.1 mm - 15.7C

The air felt tropical. Yesterday and today. The rain abated for a time this morning, so I drove to Ross, fed the cats and donkeys, closed the polytunnel doors, checked on a few things, and drove home to the Quay just as the skies broke open and the wind started to increase. 

The diving platform in Salthill, Galway today

By 1300h, the sustained wind was over 50 knots, and gusts topped 80 knots (150 km/hr). The word is that boats have broken their moorings in Rosmoney and drifted off. Alex's early flight from Amsterdam was cancelled,  and he has now finally gotten on a plane to Dublin that gets in at 9 pm. He is exhausted and has booked a hotel in Swords as all the hotels by the airport are booked. Let's hope his place can land in Dublin. 

Storm Amy has sparked school closures, travel disruption and the postponement of a major rugby match - while weather warnings are in place for the whole of the UK and Ireland. The first named storm of the season is forecast to batter the country well into the weekend. Residents in County Donegal have been told to "shelter in place" until 6pm.

They are now forecasting that Scotland will be badly affected. It has become a deep area of low pressure undergoing explosive cyclogenesis - that's when the central pressure drops 24mb or more over 24 hours.

Fingers crossed that Alex makes it home and things get better.