Were you caught in the traffic chaos in Cork last night?

Cork City was last night plunged into some of the worst traffic gridlock it has experienced in years after flooding forced the closure of one lane of the South Ring Rd.

Motorists reported journey times of up to two hours for trips that normally would have taken them less than half an hour.

With massive tailbacks being experienced by those driving eastwards towards the Jack Lynch Tunnel, many chose to turn towards the city at the Kinsale Road Roundabout which had the knock-on effect of causing traffic to build up from the South Link Rd into the city.

BREAKING: That shopping centre at the end of the South Ring Rd in #Cork has been renamed Mahon What's The Point #CorkTraffic

— Eoin English (@EoinBearla) December 3, 2015

The congestion grew rapidly through a number of arterial routes in and around the city as the rush-hour commute began.

Some even tried to avoid the tunnel road by going for the Cross River Ferry from Passage West to Cobh until long delays formed on approaches to that too.

By 8pm last night, when rush hour should have been close to an end, there were still long tailbacks in many parts of the city.

An entire lane of the South Ring closed - two hours after an earlier flood receded. How mad is that? #traffic #cork pic.twitter.com/q9jDEMalJy

— PJ Coogan (@pjcoogan) December 3, 2015

Last night, the Road Safety Authority issued a safety alert due to the inclement conditions forecast for the coming days.

It warned drivers to prepare for heavy rain and strong winds.

“This will lead to localised flooding in places,” it said. “Met Éireann has said that the midlands will be particularly affected.”

I have travelled 7.3km in two hours...

That's right folks, you didn't misread that..two hours 😄 pic.twitter.com/0WuRuITKv1

— Killian O'Sullivan (@ActuallyKillian) December 3, 2015