As thunderstorms begin to strike Donegal, over 15,000 homes have already been left without power in the county tonight.
The ESB says that around 5,000 customers are affected by a major outages in west Donegal with a large swathe of homes in the Gaoth Dobhair and Falcarragh areas left in the dark.
In the Milford area, the ESB say that 2,782 customers are affected.
Some 2,257 are without power in the Creeslough area and over 500 are reported to be out in Letterkenny.
Elsewhere, over 1,500 properties are affected in the south west of the county, with homes in Killybegs, Kilcar and Glencolmcille having no power.
A further 800 properties in the Glenties and Ardara areas have had their power go on the blink while over 100 in the Finn Valley area have no electricity and 66 are said to be affected in the Bundoran area.
The ESB says that crews are currently working to repair faults and will restore power “as quickly as possible”.
A status yellow thunderstorm warning is in place until 6pm on Friday.
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Earlier, Met Eireann warned of thunderstorms developing, with the risk of torrential downpours and localised flooding with possible impacts of: localised flooding, lightning damage, hail, hazardous driving conditions and gusty winds.
Donegal County Council said in a statement: “This is a very unpredictable storm front, with forecasts for potentially large and severe hailstorms with hailstones up to 5cm in size, flash flooding from heavy downpours, and severe lightning strikes.
“In the event of instances of flooding in urban areas the Council maintains a large stock of pre-filled sandbags at numerous locations across the county and will respond to flooding events should they arise.
“Donegal County Council’s Severe Weather Assessment Team met earlier this afternoon and will continue to monitor the evolving weather situation. Council services have been placed on an advanced state of readiness to respond to any emerging situations arising from this weather-related event.”
Key Public Safety Messages:
Driving conditions may be hazardous, please drive with care, and be mindful of other road users, particularly pedestrians and cyclists
Festival and event organisers are advised to ensure that all temporary structures are safely and securely erected, and to monitor weather updates
Those camping and caravanning should monitor the forecast and choose sheltered locations and avoid exposed sites on hillsides or cliffs.
Monitor Met Éireann forecasts and/or visit https://www.met.ie/ for the most up to date information. Information is available across social media platforms and other news media sources.
ESB Networks is highlighting the dangers posed by fallen live wires and is advising the public and the emergency services to stay away from these fallen cables and to report such cases to it immediately. ESB Emergency Services can be contacted at 1800 372 999. The public can monitor www.PowerCheck.ie for power restoration times.
Donegal County Council is also sharing the following national advice from the National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management.