Storm Darragh, the fourth named storm of the year, has caused havoc with this weekend’s sporting fixtures.
A deluge of rain and strong winds has led to travel chaos with an amber weather warning in place until 9pm on Saturday night. Power cuts, blocked roads, suspended trains and cancelled flights are just some of the impacts currently being felt.
Unsurprisingly, sport has also been hit by the storm.
Saturday’s Premier Intermediate League clash between Queen’s University and Banbridge Town at The Dub was the first Irish League game to be postponed, with a decision taken on Friday afternoon.
Since then, NIFL confirmed there will be pitch inspections at Glentoran versus Ballymena United, Dundela versus Institute, Knockbreda versus Lisburn Distillery and Tobermore United versus Oxford Sunnyside.
In rugby, Ulster are expected to fly to Toulouse on Saturday afternoon ahead of Sunday’s hotly anticipated Champions Cup opener against defending European and Top14 champions Stade Toulousain at the Stade Ernest-Wallon.
Due to a packed rugby calendar, should Ulster not make it over to France for the game then they would be forced to forfeit the tie rather than just playing it on a different date, meaning they would miss out on the chance to even try and pick up a result against the French giants.
Ulster Rugby declined to comment on the situation.
Meanwhile, the Giants took measures to ensure their away double-header over the weekend will take place, with a trip to face the Cardiff Devils on Saturday followed by a visit to the Coventry Blaze on Sunday.
The Belfast Telegraph understands that Adam Keefe’s side were due to travel on Saturday but, in order to ensure they could travel safely, scrambled to push their flights ahead to Friday and arrived in Cardiff the day before their game.
It would not have been the first time that the Giants have been affected by storm travel this season having suffered an eight-hour delay ahead of their game against the Nottingham Panthers two weeks ago thanks to Storm Bert.
The result was an extremely short preparation for the game, which was pushed back by nearly an hour-and-a-half and which they would lose 3-2 in overtime.
And in Gaelic Games, the Ulster Club Senior Football Championship Final is due to get under way at 3:30pm on Sunday when Kilcoo take on Errigal Ciaran at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh to conclude a competition that has already been beset by postponements.
Storm Ashley prompted the postponement of four county finals in October, resulting in significant fixture congestion, and this close to Christmas it would not be ideal for Ulster GAA to have to push back their flagship club game. There will be a pitch inspection in Armagh on Sunday morning ahead of the Senior Final.
In a statement to the Belfast Telegraph, Ulster GAA confirmed that the Ulster Club SFC is still proceeding as scheduled, however the Ulster Football Intermediate Club Championship Final between Arva and Ballinderry at Healy Park, Omagh has been postponed and refixed for Saturday 14 December at 5pm.