Severe winds blow the roof off a national school in Mayo

“What are the criteria for a ‘red wind warning’ for the extreme west coast of Ireland?”

A national school in Mayo was forced to close for the day on Tuesday after strong winds blew the roof off part of a building. The incident occurred at Dooagh National School in Achill, a three-teacher school with 39 pupils and the most westerly school on the island, at approximately 9.30am on Tuesday. Nobody was injured as a result. A number of photos were posted on the Dooagh National School Facebook page on Tuesday along with a message that read:

“Some photos of the damage caused by the storm this morning... it makes us wonder what are the criteria for a ‘red wind warning’ for the extreme west coast of Ireland? Thankfully nobody was hurt but we are missing our flat roof!!"

Mayo was one of seven counties issued with a status yellow wind warning on Monday evening, a warning which will remain in place until 8pm on Tuesday evening. The warning forecast strong westerly winds with mean speeds of 50 to 65km/h and gusts of up to 110km/h, highest in coastal areas. A status orange weather warning had been in place for Mayo, as well as Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Sligo, Clare and Kerry, until 8pm on Monday evening as Storm Ciara continued to make its presence felt. Main image via Facebook/Dooagh N.S.