ANY HOPES THAT the recent lull in our warm weather was temporary were dashed today as flooding and heavy rain hit many areas along the east coast.
The downpours caught Dublin off guard, resulting in many road closures, although the vast majority have since reopened and with few reports of damage.
Two prisoners had to be moved from Ballymun Garda Station due to flooding – it was also where the Dublin City Council’s rain gauges recorded their highest reading of 84mm.
As many as 30 council staff were deployed to deal with the heavy rainfall, the council said in a statement.
“Crews from our Drainage and Cleansing Sections are on standby to deal with issues arising from flooding incidents and we can draw on the additional resources of the Civil Defence if required,” it read.
With rainfall it is extremely difficult to predict where the rain will fall at its heaviest, unlike tidal flooding where strategic deployment of resources can be put in place in advance in areas where flooding incidents can be predicted with more certainty.
Conditions won’t be getting any better overnight.
Met Éireann’s Status Orange warning will remain in place for Leinster, Cavan, and Monaghan this evening.
As much as 40mm of rain fell up until 6am this morning, and a further 40 to 60mm is expected to have fallen by 6am tomorrow.
Further to the west, Tipperary is due to get its fair share of rain, and an already soggy Spraoi festival is set to continue in Waterford.
Status Yellow warnings are in place for both counties, were between 30 and 50mm of rain is likely to have fallen by 6am tomorrow.
And look – we know it was an awful start to the Bank Holiday weekend, but the rain is due to ease overnight.
For Monday, there’s talk of ‘clear spells’ and something called ‘sunshine’, but we won’t hold our breath.
