FLOODING: Increase in frequency and intensity of severe weather, says Met Éireann

Met Éireann has explained why the country experienced one of the warmest and wettest Decembers on record — and warned that “severe weather events” could become more frequent and even more intense.

The national meteorological service said an unusually high frequency of southerly or south-westerly winds persisted throughout last month and the warm and moist tropical air masses brought very mild, wet, and stormy weather.

“December 2015 was one of the mildest on record in most areas and the wettest on record in parts of the West, South, and Midlands,” it said. “The widespread flooding in some parts of the country was exacerbated by already saturated ground following above- normal rainfall in November. The combined rainfall totals for November and December were the highest on record in some parts of the country, in particular at Shannon, Cork, and Knock airports.”