Met Éireann have named Storm Kathleen (the 11th storm of the 2023/2024 season).
Below valid at 10am on Friday 5th April 2024.
Storm Kathleen is a significant low-pressure system tracking off the west coast which will bring strong southerly winds and damaging gusts across the country on Saturday.
Met Éireann have issued a nationwide yellow wind warning for Saturday with orange level wind warnings coming into effect for counties Cork, Kerry and Waterford at 7am, valid until 2pm, and counties Galway and Mayo at 9am, valid until 6pm. Storm Kathleen is a dynamic system so there may be updates to the warnings. Please keep in touch with Met Éireann’s social media channels, www.met.ie and the Met Éireann app to stay up to date with the forecasts.
Deputy Head of Forecasting, Liz Coleman said “It is the end of the Easter holidays so there will be a lot of people travelling and they may not be expecting such unseasonably strong and gusty winds. Please make sure to plan your journeys in advance by keeping in contact with the forecast. We are likely to see some trees down due to the saturated soils and strong winds. There will be dangerous conditions at sea too, coupled with wave overtopping and coastal flooding in some areas.”
The rapid deepening of Storm Kathleen is due the interaction of this low-pressure system with a strong southerly jet stream.
The potential impacts of Storm Kathleen are likely to be:
- Very difficult travel conditions
- Fallen trees
- Some power outages
- Coastal flooding
- Wave overtopping
Harmonie model – wind/gust
Storm Kathleen will increase water levels on all coasts as we approach a period of spring tides. This will result in strong coastal winds, a rough sea state and significant waves. Coastal flooding and wave overtopping is likely, especially at times of high tide.
The rain associated with Storm Kathleen will fall on already saturated ground, therefore water will make its way quickly into the rivers. Cumulative rainfall totals could lead to elevated river levels in western and southwestern areas.
It will feel quite mild too for this time of year, as the southerly airflow bring warm air over the country.
Do we frequently get storms in April?
Two storms have been named in April since storm naming began in 2015/2016. Storm Hannah was named by Met Éireann on Fri 26th April 2019, which brought storm force winds to Mace Head. Storm Noa named by Météo France, brought storm force winds to Sherkin island on Wed 12th April 2023.
There was also a storm as late as 14th June 2018, Storm Hector, which brought storm force winds to Mace Head.
Why was the name “Kathleen” chosen?
Storm Kathleen is named after Kathleen “Kay” Antonelli/McNulty and Kathleen Lonsdale. This is one of the 7 names Met Éireann chose for the 2023-24 list. Met Éireann chose names of eminent Irish/Northern-Irish scientists to honour their important contributions to science and benefits for humankind.
Kathleen ‘Kay’ McNulty Mauchly Antonelli: one of the mothers of computer programming.
- Kay was an Irish computer programmer, and one of the six original programmers on the ENIAC machine, which was one of the first general purpose electronic digital computers.
- In 2017, DCU honoured Kay by naming their computer science building in her name.
- The Irish-Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC) also honoured her in 2019 when they named their new supercomputer “Kay” following a public vote whereby Kathleen beat out other candidates including Francis Beaufort and Nicholas Callan.
Kathleen Lonsdale: Irish crystallographer who demonstrated the crystal structure of benzene.
- She was the first to use Fourier spectral methods while solving the structure of hexachlorobenzene in 1931.
- She was also one of the first two women inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1945 alongside Marjory Stephenson, a British biochemist.
For further information on storm naming check https://www.met.ie/forecasts/storm-names.