Met Éireann has issued a fresh urgent weather alert as heavy rainfall is expected to impact areas already affected by Storm Chandra. The national forecaster urged the public to “be aware, stay updated and stay safe”, as renewed flood threats emerge across parts of the south and east, reports The Mirror.
Many locations are still coping with the aftermath of last week’s storm, which brought strong winds, intense rainfall and widespread disruption. Around 20,000 homes were left without electricity, flights were cancelled, hundreds of schools closed and rivers such as the Slaney in Wexford and the Dodder in Dublin burst their banks.
Met Éireann has warned that rainfall on already saturated ground, combined with elevated river levels and approaching spring tides, could lead to further flooding in the coming days, reports The Mirror.
It said: “Spells of heavy and persistent rainfall will continue through the week of February 2, particularly in southern and eastern coastal counties. Rain will fall on saturated ground where river levels are high with high tides expected this week. This will lead to further flooding along rivers and in coastal areas”, reports The Mirror.
Last night, the national forecaster confirmed it had adjusted the timing of its weather warnings, explaining: “Weather warning’s times have been adjusted. Check with your local authority on potential local flood risks and our web/app on further weather updates”, reports The Mirror.
At present, a Status Yellow rain warning is in effect for Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Cork and Waterford from 9pm on Monday until 3pm on Tuesday. A second Status Yellow rain warning covering Dublin, Louth and Wicklow applies from 6am until 9pm on Tuesday, reports The Mirror.
Looking ahead, low-pressure systems are expected to continue dominating weather patterns, bringing further heavy rainfall throughout the week. Forecasts indicate that between 30mm and 45mm of rain could fall from Sunday, February 1, through to Friday, February 6.
Met Éireann said: “After a week of persistent rain, many rivers are at or above bank-full conditions. Soils are saturated or waterlogged in many places across the country, increasing the risk of further river and surface water flooding, reports The Mirror.
“Any additional rainfall over the course of the coming few days is expected to result in river and surface water flooding, particularly in the midlands, southern, southeastern, northeastern, and eastern counties. Rivers are expected to overflow their banks, and smaller tributaries may flood more rapidly.
“We are also entering a period of high spring tides with strong onshore winds, particularly along southern and eastern coasts. This will increase flood risk in low-lying coastal areas.
“Rain will arrive into the south of the country across Munster and south Leinster Monday evening. With the high river levels in these areas together with saturated ground further river flooding is possible in these locations. Yellow level rainfall warnings have been issued for Monday and into Tuesday with impacts including localised and river flooding.
“Looking ahead to the rest of the week and low pressure remains dominant. This in turn will result in spells of rain continuing across the south and east”, reports The Mirror.
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