Storm Jorge is causing travel chaos with flooding, heavy rain and gusts hitting 133kmph
Rain has been falling as sleet or snow in places, especially in the midlands and north for a spell.
It will make driving conditions very dangerous.
The showers will be mix of rain, hail and sleet according to Met Eireann.
The strongest wind in the world today hit Ireland on the west coast at 102mph.
ESB Networks says there are around 1,000 homes, farms and businesses without power mainly on the west coast of Ireland.
Fianna Fáil TD for Galway East Anne Rabbitte told RTE News that the south of Galway is submerged in water.
She added that most roads are totally impassable and more road closures are inevitable.
The Irish Coast Guard has asked the public not to put their lives, or the lives of their rescue teams in danger by venturing out to exposed coastal areas unnecessarily.
This video shows the dramatic moment high winds blew a truck over in Co Galway as Storm Jorge is battering the west coast of Ireland.
The footage was captured today on the N59 at Maam Cross in Connemara.
Luckily, the driver of the truck wasn't injured.
Joanne Donnelly of Met Eireann says the weather warnings need to be heeded given the strength of the winds forecast as well as the associated rain, sleet and snow.
Motorists have been urged to be careful and watch out for loose debris on the roads.
Gusts have hit as high as 133KMPH at Nace Head, Co Galway today.
A band of heavy rain and high winds rolled into Westport Harbour this morning as Storm Jorge began its assault on the west of Ireland.
While most of the island will be affected by the hazardous conditions, coastal counties in the west will be the hardest hit.
The Irish Mirror spoke to Westport local Tadgh Mc Nally who braved the freezing conditions and swam at Westport harbour before Jorge’s arrival.
“I’m swimming here for the last forty five years here in Westport,” he said.
“I just finished a night shift and said I’d jump in before the storm arrived, it’s good for the immune system."
Motorists are being advised against traveling with Met Éireann warning of “a significant risk of flooding” with water tables already high and ground in many areas saturated.
Winds of up to 150kph are forecast with a status red warning issued for Galway and Clare valid between 1pm and 4pm today.
Already flood affected, both counties are braced for likely further damage thanks to the latest extreme weather conditions.
Storm Jorge is the third storm to hit Ireland this month bringing the total number for 2020 to seven.
While widespread travel disruption is likely to take place across the country there are a few who are determined to defy the storm.
The entire country is bracing itself for Storm Jorge with the western coast likely to be hardest hit with gusts of 145km forecast.
Met Eireann forecaster Evelyn Cusack said: “Winds will be violent storm force 11 off our coasts.”
A Status Red wind warning will be in place from lunchtime today for counties Galway and Clare.
AStatus Orange wind warning – the second highest alert –was issued for Galway, Mayo, Clare and Kerry from 6am today until 3am tomorrow. It is upgraded to red for Galway and Clare from 1pm to 4pm.
An Orange wind alert comes into effect in Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo from noon today until 3am tomorrow.
A Status Yellow wind warning is in place today from 9am for all of Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Roscommon, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford.
A Yellow rainfall alert remains in place for Munster, Connacht and Donegal until tonight.
It’s the first alert at this level since deadly Storm Ophelia in 2017.
Hail, snow and thunderstorms will also form part of a potentially lethal cocktail.
Storm Jorge, named by the Spanish weather service, will hit as landowners and householders in the Shannon basin are already battling to protect homes from floods.
River levels are 1.6m higher than normal in some parts with thousands of acres of farmland under water.
Residents in other low-lying areas are also bracing themselves.
The country’s island communities along the entire Atlantic coast were already under a Status Red alert yesterday.
But Met Eireann extended its highest warning to Galway and Clare after studying high resolution satellite images yesterday afternoon.
Even before Jorge makes landfall in the south-west and west from 6am today it’s already been the wettest February in 170 years in some areas.
Ms Cusack warned places that escaped lightly during previous storms will be hit on this occasion.
ESB crews are on emergency standby for areas hit by power cuts, with parts of the Midlands among locations likely to be affected.
Falling trees will pose a deadly threat and an ESB spokesman said: “As they topple they will bring down power lines.”
The storm is expected to be so severe the Army and local authority teams may have to suspend flood relief operations.
The National Emergency Coordination Committee convened yesterday and will also meet today and tomorrow when the full extent of the damage becomes clearer.
