With extremely high tides, coupled with strong winds, and a strong sea swell, Kerry County Council is warning of a serious threat to flooding in coastal areas of the county, particularly low-lying coastal areas.
In addition, given the combination of extremely high tides and storm conditions, the Council is asking members of the public to stay away from coastal areas this weekend, including beaches, cliffs, promenades, piers and harbours.
High Spring Tide warnings have been issued by the OPW over the coming week, beginning on Thursday, January 30th and continuing until Wednesday, February 3rd. Extreme weather conditions are expected to last throughout Saturday and into Sunday.
In Kerry, the highest Spring Tide is predicted to be early on Saturday morning with High Tide around 5.30am, and predicted to be 5.1m in height, similar in height to the tides at the start of January.
In addition the High Tide is expected to be accompanied by Gale Force 8 winds coming from West/SouthWest direction, with Met Eireann predicting gusts of between 100 to 130 km/h. Along with very low barometric pressure, these conditions help to create a very strong storm surge of up to 0.5m, with accompanying very large sea swells of 10-12m.
Council crews are on standby and further weather updates will be sent out as soon as they are issued.
Contacts: Kerry County Council. Áras an Chontae, Tralee / Ph: 066 718 3826,
Fax: 066 718 3848 / Email: pressofficer@kerrycoco.ie
