Category: Weather

How did Storm Darragh impact Irish mobile operators

Storm Darragh caused the most extensive damage to Ireland’s electricity infrastructure in a decade and widespread mobile network outages over the weekend.

Today, Ookla shares its analysis of the impact on mobile operators in Ireland and Speedtest Intelligence® data revealing a marked and sustained decline in download and upload speeds, as well as increased latency and jitter, across all operators nationally.

Ireland’s three Mobile Network Operators (Eir, Three and Vodafone) all suffered, with median download speeds on Saturday recorded at nearly 70% lower than the 7-day average preceding the storm.  Around 40% of all samples collected by Speedtest failed to meet the minimum thresholds across 4G (5 Mbps download, 1 Mbps upload) and 5G (25 Mbps download, 3 Mbps upload) on Saturday.

This performance analysis is based on the national picture, highlighting that the impact was significant enough to lower the overall country-wide performance profile. A closer examination of the worst-affected areas along the western seaboard revealed even more pronounced declines in performance outcomes in the aftermath of the storm.

Read more here

Read more Ookla news here

Spring controversy, storm names and other Irish weather insights to be explored by Evelyn Cusack at special Imbolc event

The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies will host a special talk by Met Éireann forecaster, Evelyn Cusack, to mark the first day of spring or ‘Imbolc’ on Wednesday, 1st February, 7pm – 8pm, at DIAS, Burlington Road.

The talk – ‘Ireland’s Weather and Climate: A Journey Through Time’ – will take attendees on a journey from the time of Snowball Earth (around 600 million years ago) to the birth of scientific weather forecasting.

Ms. Cusack will also explore ‘spring controversy’, which debates whether Saint Brigid’s Day is the start of spring. The ancient Celtic festival of Imbolc is said to mark the seasonal shift from winter to spring. Imbolc is celebrated on 1st February, the same day on which the feast of Saint Brigid is marked.

Commenting today (30.01.23), Dr. Eucharia Meehan, CEO and Registrar of DIAS, said: “We’re honored to kick-off this year’s events, and celebrate Imbolc with an iconic speaker like Evelyn Cusack. Marking the shift from winter to spring, Imbolc – or Saint Brigid’s Day as it is also known – is an important festival in the Irish calendar both scientifically and culturally. At DIAS, we have expertise focusing on both on Celtic Studies and Cosmic Physics, amongst others – and a festival like Imbolc is a great opportunity to highlight some synergies in both these fields. This promises to be a fascinating insight into weather forecasting and our climate, and we would encourage people to join us for the talk.”

Evelyn Cusack has over 30 years of experience in forecasting and broadcasting on TV and Radio. She is the current Head of the Forecasting Division in Met Éireann, and is the chair of the EUMETNET Storm Naming Group, a network of 31 European National Meteorological Services based in Brussels, Belgium. She is also the National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG) Forecasting Lead for Severe Weather Events.

The lecture is free to attend and will take place on Wednesday, 1st February, 7pm – 8pm, at DIAS, Burlington Road. Places are limited and advance registration is required. To register, visit Eventbrite.