Storm Debi could damage buildings, bring down trees and cause flooding

Met Éireann has said Storm Debi has the strength to take down trees, cause damage to buildings and result in serious flooding overnight.

The deep depression has developed rapidly over the Atlantic and will batter Ireland in the early hours of Monday morning, according to forecasters.

The severity of the system has prompted Met Éireann to issue a series of warnings, including a Status Orange wind warning for 16 counties, from the west coast to the east coast.

Met Éireann has issued a series of warnings for Storm Debi which has been named and will hit Ireland on Sunday night and Monday morning. 

The national forecaster had earlier warned of a deepening depression bearing down on the west coast but the now-named storm will affect more than coastal counties.

16 counties have been placed under a Status Orange wind warning for the early hours of Monday morning.

They are Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow, Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Galway.

In its warning, Met Éireann says it will be "stormy on Sunday night and Monday due to Storm Debi with severe and damaging gusts."

They list possible impacts as "damage to exposed and vulnerable structures, dangerous travelling conditions, disruption to services and damage to power lines."

This warning is valid from 2am to 12pm on Monday.

Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather said Storm Debi seems to have "sneaked up" on weather models as the system developed rapidly before being named overnight. 

"Over 30mm of rain and gusts of over 100km/h possible as this storm develops rapidly as it moves into Ireland. The weather models are struggling to handle it but the latest high resolution ensembles have increased the risk of damaging winds significantly," he said.

You can track Storm Debi as it moves towards Ireland here:

Met Eireann has also issued a Status Yellow wind and rain warning for the entire country.

Forecasters says it will be "very windy or stormy on Sunday night and Monday due to Storm Debi, accompanied by heavy rain with a chance of embedded thunderstorms and hail."

Possible impacts include fallen trees/branches, localised flooding, wave overtopping and hazardous travelling conditions

This warning is valid from midnight on Sunday to 3pm on Monday. 

#StormDebi will sweep across Ireland on Sunday night & Monday morning

There will be severe and damaging gusts, likely to lead to:

Damage to vulnerable structures
Dangerous travelling conditions
⚡️ Disruption to services & power lines

More here https://t.co/Xg3aMJlyuS pic.twitter.com/TUuzgodvdg

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) November 12, 2023