Whole island of Ireland to be hit by first two storms of the year

Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in The first storm of the year will hit Ireland this weekend and will be closely followed by another. Orange weather warnings are in place for the south and east of Ireland, with Storm Austen forecast to bring “intense rain and flooding” in those areas. The weather system will near the southern coastline of Ireland on Thursday evening, with Status Orange rain warnings in place for Cork , Kerry and Waterford, where the impact will be felt first. Rebecca Cantwell, a meteorologist at Met Éireann, said “thankfully”, the worst of the storm will take place overnight on Thursday. A Status Yellow wind warning is also in place for all of Leinster and Munster, however, and Ms Cantwell said it will affect events this weekend like the Dublin Marathon and the Cork Jazz Festival. As it moves east overnight, Dublin, Wexford and Wicklow will be worst affected, with a Status Orange warning in place until Friday morning. Ms Cantwell said: “We are expecting a good drop of rain. It’s going to be wet and it’s going to be windy. “Most of it will be overnight, but we have trees and leaves that will fall, and the ground is going to be saturated as a result of the large amount of rain expected. open image in gallery Met Éireann has issues Status Orange weather warnings for counties in the south and east of Ireland (Brian Lawless/PA) ( PA Archive ) “We could see a lot of uprooting of trees overnight as a result. There’s also likely to be some surface flooding as well, and maybe river flooding.” As the first storm of the season clears, Met Éireann says another will quickly follow. Storm Boelo will impact the opposite side of the island. Approaching from the north-west, it will bring strong winds as well as heavy rain. These winds combined with the high tides, storm surge and large waves may lead to waves overtopping and coastal flooding in low-lying areas, as well as river flooding, according to Met Éireann. open image in gallery Met Éireann has warned drivers to prepare for flooding on the roads (Niall Carson/PA) ( PA Archive ) The UK Met Office has issued yellow wind warnings for all of Northern Ireland for Saturday and Sunday. It says there is a chance power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services like mobile phone coverage. It also warned there is a small chance of injuries and danger to life from flying debris, as well as large waves and beach material being thrown on to sea fronts, coastal roads and properties. Ms Cantwell said the whole island of Ireland will be affected by one or both storms. “The only saving grace is the different locations, Boelo in the north-west and Austen in the south-east,” she said. “But there’s going to be quite a bit of rain moving through, and when it’s falling where rain has already fallen, we’re going to see a build-up there. open image in gallery Shortly after Storm Austen dies down, Storm Boelo will hit the island (Niall Carson/PA) ( PA Archive ) “If there is damage due to the winds in Austen, the structures are going to be weakened, so it’s just going to be added effects on top of what we’ll already have seen. “But because of the positioning of the two storms, everywhere will see wet and windy conditions and a lot of things are going to be impacted this weekend.” The meteorologist warned people to take care and exercise caution when driving. “ People may be travelling to see friends and family,” she said. “With the possibility of a lot of trees being down, that could make for some difficult travelling conditions. “Keep in contact with the forecast to see if we’re going to be issuing further warnings tomorrow (Friday), so to keep an eye on those. “Allow extra time for essential travel, and a key message is never to drive into floodwaters, their depths can be deceiving, so just take care if travel plans are necessary, and give it extra time and just to slow down and stay safe.”