Met Éireann warns of increased flood risk due to saturated ground and high river levels
Half of Ireland is set to come under Status Yellow weather warnings for rain over the weekend, with Met Éireann warning of increased flood risk due to already high river levels and saturated ground.
The first weather warning will be in place across all of Connacht, as well as counties Clare, Cork, Donegal, Kerry and Limerick. This alert will come into effect at 6pm tomorrow (Saturday) and remain in place until midnight Sunday going into Monday.
Overnight from midnight Sunday until 3am Monday morning, counties Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford will come under a Status Yellow warning. A Status Yellow alert will also be in place across Northern Ireland from midnight Sunday until 6am on Monday.
Met Éireann is forecasting heavy spells of rain for the affected counties and warns that flood risk is elevated due to already high river levels and saturated ground following recent storms. Likely impacts include river and surface water flooding, difficult traveling conditions and poor visibility.
Tomorrow will begin dry with a few bright spells early on in the east. However, it will become increasingly cloudy from the west, with rain and drizzle moving into west Ulster, Connacht and west Munster in the morning. The rain and drizzle will gradually spread southeastward across the rest of the country through the afternoon, with heavy bursts in the west.
Saturday night into Sunday will be wet and blustery with widespread spells of rain, heaviest in Atlantic coastal counties. This will continue into Sunday morning with widespread rain outbreaks. The rain will clear the west and northwest later in the afternoon with drier and clearer weather following for the evening.
The rain will be heaviest and most persistent in Munster and south Leinster, with spot flooding possible. Into Sunday night, the rain will continue to clear southeastward, with scattered showers following behind and clearer spells developing.
While there is some uncertainty about Monday’s weather details, current indications suggest rain may linger over the southeast, with drier and brighter conditions elsewhere featuring sunny spells and scattered showers that will become isolated through the day.
The warnings come just days after Storm Bram battered Ireland, causing widespread power outages, transport disruption and property damage. The saturated ground conditions left by that storm significantly increase the risk of flooding from the weekend’s anticipated rainfall.
Authorities are urging residents in affected counties to monitor weather updates closely, secure outdoor items, clear drains and gutters, and avoid unnecessary travel during periods of heavy rain. Motorists should be particularly cautious of surface water and should never attempt to drive through flooded areas.