Wintry conditions expected in coming days with further flooding possible, Met Éireann says

Weather warnings of heavy rain and snow took effect from midday on Saturday.

Met Éireann said rain would be heavy at times and turn to sleet or snow, accompanied by strong winds, gripping the northwest until midnight.

Elsewhere, the forecaster said “wintry” conditions, including sleet, snow and hail, were expected across the coming days, while further flooding is possible early next week.

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Connacht, alongside counties Cavan, Donegal and Longford, fall under a yellow rain and snow warning until midnight Sunday.

Counties Cork and Kerry, meanwhile, are to come under a status yellow rain alert during the same period.

Temperatures are expected to dip to between 0 and 5 degrees on Saturday night, which is set to be “wet and windy”, with heavy rain and some sleet and snow expected in the north and east for a time.

Sunny spells and some heavy showers are expected on Sunday, alongside a chance of hail and “perhaps an isolated thunderstorm in coastal parts” amid highs of 7 to 11 degrees, Met Éireann said.

Scattered “blustery” showers are expected to continue into Sunday night, some of which will be heavy and of hail, and occasionally merging to longer spells of rain in the north and west.

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Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of between 1 and 5 degrees on Sunday night.

Blustery showers are likely to continue on Monday, with further spells of hail possible, though there will be sunny spells too amid highs of 6 to 10 degrees, Met Éireann said.

However, lows of between −3 and 3 degrees are expected on Monday night, which is set to be largely dry with clear spells, apart from a few isolated showers in the north and west, the forecaster added.

It will be coldest in the east and north, with some frost and icy patches likely.

These patches will clear on Tuesday as wet and windy weather is set to extend nationwide by the afternoon, possibly resulting in spot flooding and some sleet and snow.

A chance of spot flooding will continue into Wednesday, the forecaster said, as current indications suggest further outbreaks of rain will move in from the Atlantic.

Beyond Wednesday, Met Éireann said a “mobile Atlantic regime” will maintain generally unsettled conditions.

Meanwhile, Met Éireann confirmed its weather radar at Dublin Airport has been offline since Wednesday due to a “technical issue”.

“While the rainfall radar service in the east of the country is impacted, Met Éireann’s forecasting capabilities continue with data from multiple observations sources including other weather radar operating in Ireland and the UK, satellite imagery and weather reports from ground stations nationwide,” it said.

It added that its radar team was working to resolve the issue “as quickly as possible”.