Public urged to avoid sea swimming during and after Storm Agnes

A Bettystown councillor is urging the public to avoid sea swimming during and after Storm Agnes. Motorists are also advised to take care parking on the beach after a number of cars were almost swept away during high tides earlier this year.

The plea comes as Status Yellow wind and rain warnings have been issued for Wednesday ahead of the arrival of Storm Agnes.

It has been named by the UK Met Office and is the first named storm of the season.

Agnes is a deep Atlantic depression, Met Éireann said, that will track close to or over Ireland.

The wind warning applies to Leinster and Munster where forecasters say that southerly winds will be very strong and gusty, veering westerly later.

Difficult travel conditions, power outages, fallen trees and coastal flooding are possible.

Heavy rain, Met Éireann said, could cause difficult travel conditions, localised flooding and poor visibility.

Both warnings will be in effect from 7am to midnight.

Bettystown Cllr Sharon Tolan says people using coastal areas need to be vigilant during the weather event.

"After heavy rainfall, people should avoid or at least be very careful if they are going to swim,” she said. "Obviously we don’t have the water quality testing because we are not in the bathing season, the official bathing season ended at the beginning of September.”

Tolan also warned motorists of the danger of parking on the beach after a number of cars became submerged in water during Spring high tides earlier this year.

“There will be a couple of very high tides on Thursday and Friday so I’d urged anyone who uses the parking area that’s on the beach to be very careful,” she said. "I will post tide times on my social media pages but there are plenty of apps that will show tide times and that information.

"There are very high tides forecast so no doubt that seas will be quite rough,” she added.

The local councillor is also asking people to take care on the roads.

“There may be debris or branches from fallen trees so people should take care and give themselves extra time when travelling on the road."