Northern Ireland weather: Warning issued for Storm Bert winds

A yellow warning for high winds from Storm Bert has come into effect across Northern Ireland.

On Saturday, a number of homes in counties Down and Tyrone were flooded after heavy rain and wind caused by the storm.

The wind warning will last until 18:00 and has the potential to cause travel disruption and power cuts.

On Saturday, 6,500 homes and businesses across Northern Ireland were left without power at the peak of Storm Bert, Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) said.

There were also delays to rail services, with flooding causing some services between Belfast and Dublin to be cancelled.

The Met Office said that winds of between 45 and 55mph are widely expected on Sunday, with gusts up to 65mph possible.

The strongest winds in Northern Ireland on Saturday – 67mph – were recorded in Ballypatrick, County Antrim.

Met Éireann (the Irish Meteorological Service) has also issued a status yellow wind alert for a number of counties in the Republic of Ireland which will come into effect from 08:00 local time.

In counties Clare, Kerry and Galway this warning will last until 19:00 on Sunday.

In Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo, the alert is in place until 02:00 on Monday, with County Donegal’s in effect until 08:00.

The service has warned of difficult travelling conditions, as well as fallen trees and debris.

On Saturday, the service issued red alerts – the highest level – for heavy rain in west Cork and west Galway.

At the storm’s peak, 60,000 ESB customers in the Republic of Ireland were without power.

Wet, wet, wet during Storm Bert

by Barra Best, BBC News NI weather presenter

Parts of Northern Ireland recorded more than half a month’s rainfall over the weekend.

Derrylin in County Fermanagh had 65.2mm of rain between 18:00 GMT on Friday and 06:00 on Sunday.

That is 53% of normal rainfall for Northern Ireland for the whole month of November.

The average is 122.5mm.

Altnahinch Filters in County Antrim and Murlough in County Down both recorded 58mm of rain – 47% of normal rainfall.