Storm of the year will hit hard on Saturday
WARNING: Roads flooded in some areas but experts fear worse is to come
Torrential rain forecast to hit Dublin
Wednesday November 18 2009
FLOODS, torrential rain and winds will hit Ireland over the next 48 hours -- with experts expecting the worst weather of the year to date.
Rivers burst banks and roads were flooded in a number of areas overnight, but the flooding is expected to worsen in the coming two days, with very heavy downpours predicted for tomorrow and Saturday.
A Met Eireann forecaster told the Herald the forecast for Friday night was "very ominous".
While rainfall records may not be broken in the coming days, the underlying problem was that the country is already sodden after a very long wet period, which means flooding is now much more likely, he said.
High winds are expected to worsen the situation.
He added that councils had been "well warned" to be on flood alert throughout the country. "We're in the midst of a very wet interlude, I'm afraid," he said.
Overnight heavy rain hit the middle of the country hardest, with large amounts of rain being dumped right across the country from Dublin to Galway.
Some initial dry spells today were forecast, but heavy rain was expected across the western half of the country during the afternoon.
It will be cloudy and mild tonight with scattered outbreaks of rain. The rain will be widespread later in the night with some very heavy falls in places and a risk of flooding by morning. Southwest winds will be strong and gusty.
Tomorrow there will be a risk of further flooding in all areas, with the Midlands, South and West getting the most rain.
The heavy rain will clear early tomorrow night and Friday is expected to be a bright, cool, dry day. But very bad weather returns on Friday night and it will worsen on Saturday.
The forecast for Friday night is very heavy rain and gales sweeping up from the South, which will bear the brunt of it. Saturday will be stormy and, indeed, the storm could yet be "an exceptional event" weatherwide, the forecaster said.
"The only saving grace is that the weather will remain quite mild," he added.
The bad weather is being caused by a series of depressions coming across the Atlantic which were mixing with warm, moist air coming up from the tropics, he explained.
AA Roadwatch reported today that roads were hit with heavy rains and flooding in many parts.
aokeeffe@herald.ie
- Alan O'Keeffe
