This is the terrifying moment sparks flew from power lines as Storm Ellen battered Cork, Ireland on Wednesday night (August 19).

The clip shows the sparks flying from the electricity cables outside homes during the storm.

Red warnings came into effect on Thursday morning after the storm hit Ireland, leaving the streets strewn with fallen trees and winds up to 66 mph.

The Met Office said: ''Storm Ellen is currently bringing some unseasonably windy weather across the west with Wales having seen the strongest winds so far.

''Exposed southern coasts of the Republic of Ireland have also seen gusts of 89 mph at Roches Point earlier on.''

They said that Storm Ellen had developed from a "decayed tropical cyclone" and forecast it would sweep across Ireland before hitting the UK's west coast.

Sparks flying from electricity cables in Cork, Ireland during Storm Ellen. Cork was the only part of the country issued with a status red weather warning. The most severe weather warning that can be issued in Ireland