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3rd January 2018
11:35am GMT
Storm Eleanor may have been at its worst last night, but we're not out of the woods yet.
Met Eireann has extended its status orange wind warning for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick until 2pm today.
With fallen trees blocking paths, major flooding and coastal damage, lots of people on social media are comparing the storm to ex-Hurricane Ophelia.
Many commenters in Dublin and in the west actually think Eleanor is worse than Ophelia, and are complaining about the disparity in awareness raised before each one.
This #Eleanor chick seems to me to be waaaaay more blustery and threatening than #Ophelia and there hasn’t been a fraction of the social media furore
— Aisling Keenan (@aislingmkeenan) January 2, 2018
They shut down the country for Ophelia, Dylan came and went but from where I’m sitting Eleanor seems allot more pissed off! #StormEleanor #StormOphelia #StormDylan
— Niall O'Loughlin (@nialloloughlin) January 2, 2018
Surely Storm Eleanor is worse then Storm Ophelia... Sounds that way anyway... ????
— Eimear Keenan (@eimeark10) January 2, 2018
Hurricane Ophelia got us sent home from work, yet there was barely even any wind here.
— Hannah (@H_Whooley) January 2, 2018
Storm Eleanor however seems to be threatening to blow the balcony door off
Some 55,000 homes were left without electricity across Ireland last night and there are still widespread power outages today.
Dublin Fire Brigade said they were "busier than Ophelia" last night as they received thousands of calls, including one as far away as Cavan.
Two people were hospitalised with head injuries after a tree fell on their car in Virginia at about 7.30pm.
Met Eireann took to Twitter to compare the wind speeds of recent storms.
Max Gust information
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) January 3, 2018
Storm Eleanor
02/01/2018
1. Knock Airport 84kts
2. Mace Head 75kts
3. Newport Furnace 75kts
4. Claremorris 68kts
5. Ballyhaise 63kts
Storm Dylan
30/12/2017
Belmullet 53kts
31/12/2017
Malin Head 66kts
Storm Ophelia
16/10/2017
Roches Point 84kts
Three people lost their lives in tragic accidents during Hurricane Ophelia.
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