Weekend washout as Met Éireann issues two status yellow rain warnings 

The rain and drizzle on Saturday will gradually spread southeastwards across the rest of the country through the afternoon. File photo: Noel Sweeney/PA

After a week of dangerous conditions brought by Storm Bram, more rain is due for much of the country as Met Éireann has issued two status yellow warnings.

A rain warning for Cork, Kerry, Clare, Limerick, Donegal, and all of Connacht will come into effect at 6pm on Saturday and remain in place until midnight on Monday. 

The forecaster says "spells of heavy rain" are due and that the "flood risk is increased due to high river levels and saturated ground".

The likely impacts include river and surface water flooding, difficult travelling conditions, and poor visibility.

A second rain warning, with the same impacts, has been issued for Tipperary, Waterford, and Wexford. The warning will be in place from midnight on Sunday until 3am on Monday. 

More generally, Met Éireann said a "mobile Atlantic regime will dominate for the rest of the week and into next week too, bringing a continuation of unsettled weather". 

There will be some heavy showers in Munster and Connacht on Friday, but that will give way to a largely dry evening in many areas. Temperatures will fall to lows of 0C to 5C while cloud will build from the West overnight. 

Saturday will begin with dry weather and a few bright spells in the East, however, it will start to get cloudy with rain and drizzle moving into west Ulster, Connacht and west Munster in the morning.

Met Éireann said: "The rain and drizzle will gradually spread southeastwards across the rest of the country through the afternoon, and there'll be some heavier bursts in the West." 

Temperatures will reach highs of 8C to 12C, but it will become windy with south to south-west winds increasing fresh to strong and gusty, and gales on western coasts. 

Met Éireann has issued a status yellow gale warning from Valentia to Erris Head to Fair Head with winds set to reach gale force 8 or strong gale force 9. The warning is in place from 4am on Saturday until 9pm. 

A second status yellow gale warning from Fair Head to Carlingford Lough to Carnsore Point and on the Irish Sea will be in place from midday on Saturday until 4pm on Sunday. 

Saturday night will see a "rather wet and blustery night with widespread spells of rain, heaviest in Atlantic coastal counties". It will be mild, with temperatures falling to lows of 10C to 12C. 

The rainy conditions will continue into Sunday, with Met Éireann forecasting "a wet and blustery start to the day with widespread outbreaks of rain".

"The rain will clear the West and north-west later in the afternoon with drier and clearer weather following for the evening," said Met Éireann. "Rain will be heaviest and most persistent in Munster and south Leinster with spot flooding possible."

The rain will clear up later on Sunday night, but may linger over parts of the south-west. 

White Christmas? 

With December 25 less than two weeks away, Met Éireann has said it is "much too soon" to know if it might snow on Christmas Day. 

Forecaster Gerry Murphy said that while "snow at this time of the year is always a possibility", Christmas Day is still too far away. 

"It is much too soon to have any idea if it might snow on Christmas Day. We’ll have a better idea of what will happen closer to the time," he said.