Storm’s coming – get ready to be battered by a windy deluge
THE country is set to be battered by high winds followed by a deluge of rain.
A weather system, expected to be named Storm Callum today, has been brewing to the north west, near Newfoundland, and will hit Ireland tomorrow night.
People have been urged to prepare for severe weather heading into the weekend as the effects of Hurricane Leslie, which is further to the south, will also be felt.
Met Éireann forecaster Deirdre Lowe said strong winds caused by Callum would be followed by a period of heavy rain sweeping up from the south east caused by Leslie, with the possibility of flooding.
“We have not named it yet, but it’s likely that it will be named,” she said.
“Whether it develops into an orange warning or not, there are going to be very high winds.”
Ms Lowe said it was likely an orange warning would come into effect and people should take adequate precautions.
“For there to be an orange warning, there needs to be mean winds of 65kmh to 80kmh, with gusts of up to 130kmh,” she explained.
The weather system will initally have the greatest impact on the west of the country and then move north, however all of the country will be hit.
After the worst of the wind has swept the country, the tail-end of Hurricane Leslie will bring rainfall, raising the prospect of coastal and river flooding.
“We are urging people to take the necessary precautions,” Ms Lowe said.
“We are going to get very high winds followed by a lot of rain and there could be some coastal surge.”
However, she stressed that the weather system was still developing and it will be today before there is more cetainty of what will happen.
Official warnings will be issued in line with those forecasts, Ms Lowe added.
So far, a yellow advisory has been issued which is valid from 11pm on Thursday until 9pm on Saturday.
Galway City Council’s weather assessment team met on Monday to assess the approaching storm.
A spokesperson said the western county was experiencing a period of “very high astronomical spring tides”.
The weather systems will come after a period of unseasonably warm weather.
The mercury reached upwards of 20C yesterday, with temperatures expected to remain around the same level today.
At the end of the weekend, the forecast for Sunday is for a cooler and fresher day with scattered showers and sunny spells.