Flooding across parts of Ireland after heavy rain

Orange-level weather warnings were in place for parts of Ireland on Monday morning after a night of heavy rain across the island.

There were reports of localised flooding across parts of the island following a series of weather alerts on Sunday, with the unseasonably high rainfall into the start of the week.

A status orange rain warning for Dublin, Louth, Meath and Wicklow came into effect from midnight and expires at 2pm on Monday.

Irish national forecasting agency Met Eireann said there would be persistent and heavy rain with a chance of thunderstorms.

Meanwhile, Kildare is under a yellow-level rain warning for the same period.

The warnings followed other alerts about thunderstorms in the east of the country and increased rain in the south-west.

Met Eireann warned that the weather would bring widespread surface flooding, very difficult travelling conditions, lightning damage and very poor visibility in the worst-affected areas.

The Met Office also issued a yellow-level rain warning for the east coast of Northern Ireland.

The region was expected to experience some of the worst of a heavy spell of rainfall until 6pm Monday.

Forecasters predict affected areas could see half a month’s worth of rain in less than a day after a warning was put in place for Antrim, Armagh and Down for the 24 hours from 6pm on Sunday.

A more intense amber-level warning temporarily put in place overnight has since been lifted.

The Met Office warned there is a risk that homes and businesses could be flooded.

The expected rainfall carries a risk of flooding, power cuts and dangerous driving conditions.

Forecasters also warn there is a small chance that some communities could be cut off by flooded roads while fast-flowing or deep floodwater could pose a danger to life.

Simon Partridge, a forecaster with the UK Met Office, said: “It looks like Northern Ireland is the place where we could see the most rainfall and certainly the most impactful rainfall.

“They could see 50 to 75mm of rain within 12 to 18 hours.”

The region records an average of 89mm of rain in July, meaning more than half a month’s rainfall could hit Northern Ireland in less than a day.

A yellow-level thunderstorm warning was in place for the western half of Northern Ireland between midday and 8pm on Sunday.

Flooding was already affecting routes in Fermanagh on Sunday evening, with the Marble Arch Road, Florencecourt, and Sligo Road, Enniskillen, both described as impassable by police.

A PSNI spokeswoman said: “Please take care when travelling, slow down, and exercise caution on affected roads.”