Wild Atlantic wave of awful weather this weekend... with lock-downpours

THE country is set for a battering this weekend, as weather warnings come into effect – with the west and south Atlantic coastal areas faring the worst.

And there appears to be no l et- up for those hoping to escape the lockdown blues in the great outdoors, with even worse conditions forecast for next week.

A jet-stream from the Atlantic, which arrived last night, will bring downpours and strong winds to much of the country this weekend.

The south and west of Ireland will fare the worst, according to Met Eireann.

And that’s before the tail-end of Hurricane Epsilon wings its way to Ireland on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

The wind and rain from last night will have cleared eastwards by this morning, but dark clouds lurk close by on the horizon, with the risk of everything from hail to thunderstorms forecast.

Forecasting the dreary weekend ahead, Met Éireann said: ‘On Saturday morning [today], rain in eastern areas will clear. Heavy or squally showers will follow from the west to all areas, with the risk of hail and isolated thunderstorms.’

It also said today will be a ‘blustery day with fresh and gusty southwest winds, strong on coastal areas especially in the west’. Highest temperatures will be between 10C and 13C. ‘Showers will intensify across Atlantic coastal counties, with some thundery falls possible, bringing the risk of hail,’ the forecaster added.

It also said there will be highest temperatures of 10C to 13C today, with south-to-southwest winds ‘remaining mostly fresh to strong’, and ‘staying windiest across western coasts.’

Tomorrow, Met Éireann said, ‘ a steering low will feed in blustery thundery showers’, with ‘ a risk of hail, most frequent across Atlantic counties, where they will merge into longer spells of rain at times’.

There will be some relief for eastern areas tomorrow, with sunny and dry spells forecast, while highest temperatures will hover between 9C and 12C.

Monday will see predominantly dry and calm conditions in the daytime, with a few showers in Ulster and parts of the west early on.

However, in the days that follow, the remnants of Hurricane Epsilon will hit Irish shores, with thundery showers expected midweek.

Hurricane Epsilon remnants to hit