'It's looking better than it was': Cork may escape worst of Storm Ciarán

However, authorities urge people to batten down the hatches in preparation

Local authorities around the country are bracing for local flooding and hazardous conditions in places as Storm Ciarán passes through the region on Wednesday and Thursday. Picture: David Creedon

Cork should escape the worst of Storm Ciarán just weeks after its predecessor Babet wreaked havoc, but authorities are taking no chances and urging people to batten down the hatches in preparation.

Current modelling, which earlier had brought an ominous sense of déjà vu to communities in East Cork and West Waterford following the pummeling they took from Storm Babet, has now been updated to suggest that while there will be significant winds and rainfall, the very worst of it should pass by out at sea.

Nevertheless, local authorities around the country are bracing for local flooding and hazardous conditions in places as Storm Ciarán passes through the region on Wednesday and Thursday.

Cork County Council said that Storm Ciarán is due to pass close to the south coast on Wednesday night into Thursday, bringing falls of heavy rain and strong winds.

Met Éireann has issued a weather advisory for the coming days as the unsettled weather continues to have an impact on waterlogged soil and river levels across the county, the local authority added.

On Wednesday evening, there is a status yellow rain warning for Cork, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, and Wicklow, which may lead to flooding in places. The status yellow warning remains into Thursday for Cork, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, and Wicklow.

Alan O'Reilly, best known to social media users as Carlow Weather, has been closely monitoring the brewing storm's progress in recent days, regularly posting updates throughout the day about its impending course.

He said the feeling of dread may have receded slightly but warned people not to take Storm Ciarán lightly at the same time.

"At the moment it is looking better than what it was. Monday morning was suggesting crazy amounts of rain. There will still be a big amount of rain to come with a bit of a break before another dump — it keeps topping up. Newry got a lot of rain but Rosslare didn't — yet the build-up of water slowly had nowhere to go. 

"In relation to Midleton, if you can get a bit of a break generally between the bouts of rainfall, you won't expect the rivers to burst. Having said that, it's the catchment area and the land is completely saturated — this is why we need a flooding forecast system," he said.

Record rainfall

Ireland has been getting "savage" rainfall in recent months, he added, as climate change takes its toll on the country. 

Record rainfall back to March and into June has led to almost sopping sponge-like conditions on the ground and soil across parts of the country.

Speaking in Kildare, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that while floods are not a new phenomenon in Ireland, it is "very evident that flooding is becoming more frequent and more severe".

"We saw a real, very obvious example of that in Cork in the last couple of weeks, and now in Louth and Wexford and also in Newry today," Mr Varadkar said.

"We don't and we can't have exact predictions as to how many floods will happen every year or where they're going to happen. If we did, we'd be able to prepare better than we can, but that kind of information just doesn't exist."

Newry residents claim there has not been flooding on the scale of the last day in more than 50 years, with the canal bursting its banks overnight on Tuesday. It is bracing for more heavy rain in the coming days.

Rosslare residents in some areas were forced to leave their homes, with a coastguard dinghy used to rescue people.

Cork County Council said its crews are on standby in several known risk locations across the county and are currently clearing inlets and gullies.  Sandbags and pumping arrangements will be in place in known problem locations, it added.