This storm has arrived. Speaking to colleagues down in the south west this morning we have trees down in County Kerry, we have trees and power lines down in west Cork already this morning. This is just the start of the storm.
I would appeal particularly to motorcyclists, cyclist and drivers of high-sided vehicles – you are particularly vulnerable out there this morning. So unless your journey is absolutely essential we don’t want you to put yourselves or indeed the emergency services at risk by being out in the road.
We want to appeal also to people in the coastal areas, while it might be attractive to go to see some of these sights, you are putting yourself at serious risk by being in those areas ...
We have gusts of up to 150 kmph arriving right now on our coasts, so be prepared.
We’d like to hear from you if you’ve been affected by Ophelia or any of the associated disruption.
You can share your pictures, videos and stories with us via this callout, or you can also message the Guardian on WhatsApp by adding the contact+44(0)7867825056. We’ll use a selection of your responses as part of our reporting.
Please think of your safety first before recording or sharing any content with us.
It’s a rapidly moving picture on the island of Ireland. In the last few minutes the Met Office in Northern Ireland has said the storm will now start battering the region around 12pm and adverse conditions will continue right up to midnight.
The Met Office said there would be “short, sharp bursts of winds” of up to 80mph in Northern Ireland but the mean wind speed for the whole day could be up to 50mph.
Start time for Amber Warning for Wind brought forward to midday. Keep up to date with warnings with our App and social media. https://t.co/5HrH21vfMo
The Met Office in Belfast has said conditions will be at their worst from around 3pm today across Northern Ireland.
It added that the storm will continue across the region until around 10pm tonight. So far 11 flights have been cancelled from Belfast City airport due to the storm.
And in central Belfast, St Patrick’s soup kitchen will open later this afternoon to shelter the city’s homeless from Storm Ophelia throughout the day.
In Derry some shops in the Foyleside shopping centre, including Debenhams, have closed for the day as the public in the city have been urged to stay indoors and not travel if at all possible.
As Storm Ophelia barrels towards Ireland, the Irish president, Michael D Higgins, has issued an appeal for people to heed the warnings about the dangers it poses.
Speaking from Australia where he is on a state visit, Higgins said he hoped everyone “took the necessary precautions” to protect life and property when the storm reaches the Republic from the middle of the morning onwards.
President Higgins urged people to follow Government advice and take precautions in advance of hurricane #Ophelia making landfall today.
Ireland’s transport minister, Shane Ross, has warned of huge disruption to the country’s transport network today.
Ross said he was urging the public not to travel if at all possible on Monday.
There are 140 flights cancelled from Ireland, Bus Éireann has announced all its school services are shut and the Garda Siochana have urged cyclists not to go out on their bikes today.
Colleges and schools in the Republic and Northern Ireland are all closed for the day, with the Irish weather service, Met Eireann, warning again today on RTE radio that Ophelia still has the “potential for hurricane force winds and hurricane force gusts”.
Ophelia is expected to the south and south-west of Ireland around 10am.
People in many parts of Ireland have been warned to stay indoors at various times of the day while the storm passes. A general warning not to cycle today is also in force from Transport for Ireland.
Waves of almost 27ft high have been recored south-west of Ireland as the storm heads towards landfall, Dave Throup a seasoned storm watcher from the UK’s Environment Agency notes.
Weather buoy off SW Ireland now recoding 27ft waves as ex Hurricane Ophelia approaches. pic.twitter.com/cnGlSddKLg
No sign of any such waves near the Irish coast yet, but the wind is picking up according to RTE’s Brian O’Connell in Portmagee, on Ireland’s south-west coast.
This is Matthew Weaver with live coverage on the impact of ex-hurricane Ophelia which is due to make landfall in the next hour.
It is expected to batter Ireland and Northern Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph, threatening widespread disruption and life-threatening conditions.
The weather system has weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm, but Ireland’s Met Office has issued a red weather warning, meaning potential danger to life.
Schools in Ireland have been closed along with many government buildings and courts.
Southern and western coasts are set to bear the initial brunt in the morning before it moves north. A rare warning of hurricane force 12 winds was issued in Monday’s shipping forecast for areas south and west of Ireland.
It said: “Severe gale nine to violent storm 11 occasionally hurricane force 12 at first in North Fitzroy, Sole, Fastnet and Shannon.”
An amber warning is in place for Northern Ireland, with the UK Met Office warning of potential power cuts, and disruption to transport and mobile phone reception. Flying debris such as roof tiles could be a danger to life, it said.
