Fresh rain warning issued for seven counties as Met Éireann warns of further flooding

Clean-up operations continued amid the threat of more rain in some of the worst-affected towns, like Enniscorthy and Aughrim, and areas in South Dublin.

Met Éireann has issued a fresh status yellow warning for seven counties as parts of the country continue to recover from Storm Chandra. 

The alert will come into effect at 12pm on Friday for Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Louth, Wexford, Wicklow and Waterford and stay in place for a 12-hour period. 

The national forecaster has warned that heavy rain falling on already saturated ground, combined with high river levels, will lead to localised flooding, river flooding, and difficult travel conditions. 

The new warning comes following Storm Chandra, which caused disruption across the island earlier in the week. This included power outages, flight cancellations, and the closure of around 300 schools in Northern Ireland. 

Clean-up operations continued amid the threat of more rain in some of the worst-affected towns, like Enniscorthy and Aughrim, and areas in South Dublin.

Both the Slaney River, in Co Wexford and the Dodder River, in Co Dublin, burst their banks. There were also fallen trees reported across the country. At the height of Storm Chandra, up to 20,000 properties were without power.

The scale of flooding in some areas has increased pressure on Met Éireann and the Government over whether the weather warnings were sufficient. 

Housing minister James Browne was accused of avoiding responsibility for tackling flooding following his critical comments about Met Éireann's role in alerting the public about the storm's potential damage.

On Wednesday, he said he would be seeking a meeting with Met Éireann to ascertain if people in Enniscorthy could have been warned earlier that their premises were under threat. Enniscorthy in his Wexford constituency bore the worst of the flooding caused by Storm Chandra.

Weekend weather outlook

More generally, Saturday morning will see some cloud and outbreaks of rain, while the southeast will see some sunny spells and a few showers. 

The rain will then start to become more isolated before brighter or sunny intervals develop. Clear spells with patches of mist and fog will dominate Saturday night, before rain moves into the west and south overnight. 

Sunday will see some rain, before dry and bright conditions develop. Highs of 5C to 10C are set for the day. It will stay relatively dry then later in the night, however, it will become cold with some frost as temperatures linger between -2C and 3C. 

Looking into next week, Bank Holiday Monday will start off cold with some mist and fog before rain develops in eastern areas. Highs of 5C to 9C are expected.

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