'A very, very wet day': Status orange rain warnings for four counties in effect
Flooding in Co Wexford after Enniscorthy's River Slaney bursts its banks last week. Picture: Niall Carson
Met Éireann has warned that it will be a "very, very wet day" with three status orange weather alerts now in effect for four counties.
The forecaster said spells of very heavy rain falling on already saturated ground, combined with high river levels and high tides, will lead to localised flooding, river flooding, and difficult travel conditions.
The orange warnings are in place for Waterford, Dublin, Wicklow, and Louth. The Waterford warning has been in effect since 9am on Thursday and will remain in place for 24 hours.
In Dublin and Wicklow, the rain alert came into effect at midday and will be in place until 3pm on Friday. The warning for Louth came into effect at the same time and is in place until 6pm on Friday.
Two status yellow rain warnings are also in place, with one for Tipperary, Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, and Wexford in place until 9am on Friday and another for Cavan, Meath, and Monaghan in place until 6pm tomorrow.
Met Éireann said "further rain falling on already saturated ground combined with high river levels and high tides" will lead to localised and river flooding as well as difficult travel conditions.
Met Éireann forecaster Gerry Murphy told radio stations on Thursday that “it is going to be a very, very wet day” with rain continuing to fall until mid-afternoon on Friday.
He said the rain, particularly in the Dublin mountains, is going to have a “knock-on” effect at lower levels in areas such as Shankill and Rathfarnham and other parts of South County Dublin.
"Once this rain does get started this morning, it's actually going to continue right the way through the rest of the day overnight and through tomorrow morning as well," Mr Murphy said.
"So there's going to be rain where basically it's just going to continue raining from once it starts mid-morning and then basically it's just rain, rain until maybe mid-afternoon tomorrow."
In Dublin, the city council’s flood management is monitoring river levels and coastal conditions closely with its crews active around the city.
The council said tidal warnings have prompted the decision to continue the closure of car parks along the coasts at Sandymount and Clontarf. The cycle lane at Clontarf will also be closed as a precautionary measure.
The floodgates at Eden Quay Boardwalk will also remain closed as will the floodgates along the River Dodder.
Sandbags are also being made available at “strategic locations”, with priority given to critical infrastructure and locations that are at “immediate risk”, it added.
Wexford County Council said that there was some spilling onto Wexford Quay at high tide this morning but "luckily it is not as bad as expected".
In Wicklow, the council said it is continuing to assess the situation as sandbags stores had been replenished in key areas.
Irish Ferries, meanwhile, cancelled its early afternoon Dublin-Holyhead service due to the adverse weather conditions.
On Wednesday, the National Emergency Coordination Group met and said it was on high alert for flooding in the days to come.
It warned that we are entering another challenging phase over Thursday and Friday, with orange and yellow rain warnings in place.
“Significant rainfall is expected in areas already affected by flooding over the last period,” it said.
“The public are urged to be alert for flooding as the situation can change very quickly and even small amounts of rain could result in significant impacts in areas where river levels are high and/or where the ground is already saturated.
“Flooding may impact transport services, and the public is advised to check with operators before their journey.”
The National Emergency Coordination Group was due to meet again at midday Thursday.
Check out the Irish Examiner's WEATHER CENTRE for regularly updated short and long range forecasts wherever you are.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
