Ready the brollies – full week’s worth of rain to fall today

BRING out your brolly, or maybe even a boat, because today looks set to be a washout with a week’s worth of rain predicted to fall in just one day.

A national yellow rain warning is in place, with between 30mm and 50mm expected to fall across the country between midnight last night and midnight tonight.

A Met Éireann forecaster said some areas will experience up to a week’s worth of their average December rainfall in the 24-hour period. He said: ‘For the south east, on average during a week in December you would receive around 50mm of rain a week.

‘If you wanted to pick a few spots that are more likely to hit 50mm than 30mm, it would more likely to be parts of Wexford, Wicklow – south eastern areas.’

‘For parts of the north and the north west, the average weekly rain in December is more like 60mm or 70mm so obviously there wouldn’t be quite that much there,’ the forecaster explained.

Although the rain will be extremely heavy today, it is set to ease overnight and give way to drier but still unsettled conditions over the next week.

A national yellow wind warning has also been issued for today, with winds of up to 60kph predicted this morning in eastern areas, with some ‘severe gusts’ potentially reaching 90kph-110kph this afternoon.

While the warning is in place until shortly before midnight tonight, the rain is expected to clear as the evening goes on, becoming dry by tomorrow morning – but very cold.

The heavy rain will return on Monday alongside strong winds which will clear as the day goes on.

Those hoping for a white Christmas may be disappointed, as it seems more wet and windy weather is on the way. One forecaster said his colleagues are ‘not expecting’ snow in the next week or so, but can’t yet tell for Christmas Day.

A level orange marine gale warning is also in place with south-easterly winds of up to gale force nine predicted last night and into this morning across coastal waters and the Irish sea.

jane.fallon.griffin@dailymail.ie