A herd of cows escape from a farmers field in Dovea, County Tipperary, Ireland, as Storm Ellen batters the country this morning (August 20).<br />The animals dashed towards the road as the rain and strong winds struck.<br /><br />''Luckily we spotted them before they had gone too far and got them back safe and sound,'' said the neighbour, who has a herd of 'Kilsunny' pedigree cows.<br /><br />The region suffered fallen trees and power lines which lead to electricity blackouts after strong winds of up to 66mph and heavy rain struck throughout the night.<br /><br />Warnings came into effect on Thursday morning after the storm hit Ireland, with large swells predicted.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />''Exposed southern coasts of the Republic of Ireland have also seen gusts of 89 mph at Roches Point earlier on.''<br /><br />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.
