Ophelia: Storm kills three people as high winds wreak havoc across Ireland and UK
Three people have been killed in Ireland as ex-hurricane Ophelia swept through the country at speeds of up to 96mph, downing trees, ripping off rooftops and causing widespread disruption.
Hundreds of thousands of people lost power and government offices, infrastructure, schools and workplaces were closed, as forecasters warned of “potential danger to life”.
Ireland’s weather service, Met Eireann, described the storm as the most powerful on record to have ever been so far east in the Atlantic, and there was also heavy weather in western parts of the UK.
North Wales saw 90mph gusts, and in Northern Ireland, they reached 71mph. Wigtownshire, south-west Scotland, recorded 73mph winds and the highest wind speed in England was 62mph in Crosby, Merseyside.
Ophelia’s ferocity was highlighted by several fatalities. An unnamed man whose car was struck by a tree in Ravensdale, Co Louth, died mid-afternoon on Monday.
