Met Éireann has issued a 12-hour yellow rain warning for six counties as wet and unsettled conditions sweep across Ireland, marking a sharp return to winter weather.
The alert covers Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Cork, and Waterford, with the warning coming into effect at midnight and remaining in place until midday today.
Forecasters have cautioned of localised flooding, difficult travel conditions, and poor visibility, as heavy downpours move across the country.
Today’s outlook is mostly cloudy, with outbreaks of rain expected in many areas. Conditions will be heaviest in the east and southeast this morning, where flooding risks are greatest.
A spokesperson for Met Éireann said: “There’ll be mist and fog too. Highest temperatures of 13C to 16C in mainly light to moderate southerly winds, fresh at times in the southeast.”
Tomorrow is set to remain dull and wet, with widespread rain turning heavy in places before easing into drizzle, mist, and fog later in the day. The national forecaster added: “Highest temperatures of 13C to 17C with light to moderate southerly winds.”
Looking ahead, the weekend forecast remains uncertain, though early models suggest a bright and clear Saturday, followed by a more unsettled Sunday as another front approaches.
Independent forecasters have echoed these warnings, with some predicting a drop in temperatures and a possible return of frost in the coming days.
Cathal Nolan, from Ireland’s Weather Channel, said the most intense rainfall today will be concentrated in the south and southeast, having shifted from the west where it lingered earlier in the week.
He explained: “There are yellow weather warnings in place across parts of south Munster and south south Leinster. Then as we go into the midweek period, an area of low pressure pushes west into the country on Wednesday — that brings us further outbreaks of rain, heavy at times it must be said, across the southern half of the country. Generally speaking, even for the remainder of the week and into the weekend, we have very mixed conditions.”
Nolan continued: “Areas of cloud and outbreaks of rain pushing in from the west on occasion are likely to persist. We are in the midst of a particularly unsettled spell, though we can start to see signs of a little change as we get towards the middle of the month.”
As for the longer-term outlook, Nolan warned that the country may experience a “wintry” switch later in November, though it’s unlikely to bring significant snow.
He said: “It looks as though higher pressure is going to build to our north and our winds, instead of being in a more westerly direction, look like switching around to an easterly direction, which as we get toward the end of November can at times bring wintriness. It’s probably going to come a little bit early for that to be the case.”
While a temperature drop is expected into next week, Nolan added that widespread snow is unlikely: “It’s unlikely to bring snow across the lower levels, maybe a dusting across the tops of the very highest mountains if we were to see showers being blown in across the Irish Sea on the back of that easterly wind.”
The forecaster concluded that Ireland’s weather is likely to settle slightly as November progresses, with cooler, more seasonal conditions and the return of night frosts: “It looks like our weather will settle down and get a bit more seasonal, a little bit cooler, as we go through the middle part of November with a risk of some night frosts returning.”
