Snow Gives Way To 100mph Gales As Winter Bites

Widespread disruption caused by last week's heavy snowfalls has this week given way to gale force winds and heavy rain.

Gusts of up to 105mph battered parts of Ulster on Tuesday night and the early hours of Wednesday forcing the closure of several roads and leaving around 6,000 homes without power.

The north west of the province was the worst affected by the extreme weather conditions which began to hit the country in the early evening.

Torrential rain caused flooding on several arterial routes and high winds brought down around 100 trees causing havoc on Ulster's roads.

Road Service crews worked well into the night to remove fallen trees and debris from roads, and falling trees also caused problems for thousands of Ulster householders, cutting their electricity supplies, severing powerlines, cables and bringing poles down and damaging other equipment.

The north west, Omagh, Coleraine and Ballymena were the worst affected areas.

(BMcC)