When it rains, it pours!

The spell of good weather takes a turn for the worse with showers and floods

AFTER the sun, comes the rain – and lots of it.

Met Éireann has issued a rainfall warning as flooding began around the country and the long sunny spell disappeared behind grey clouds.

The national forecaster warned that 25m to 40mm of rain could fall in areas around the country, with Met Éireann issuing the Status Yellow rainfall alert for Leinster, Connacht, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal and Waterford.

However, despite the end to drought conditions, Irish Water are keeping the water conservations orders in place despite the heavy rainfall.

As the rain arrived yesterday and last night, emergency services were called in as flooding outside Ennis, Co. Clare, caused traffic chaos. Heavy downpours caused spot flooding along the main R352 road connecting Ennis with east Clare and the M18 motorway.

Fire crews were called out to clear the flooding, and gardaí were called to assist with traffic flow.

‘Weather changes are under way at the moment,’ said Met Éireann forecaster Liz Gavin. ‘We’re going to see much rain or showers in many areas over the coming two days.’

Today, rainy conditions are set to linger throughout the northern part of the country, with a mixture of sunny spells and scattered

‘Changeable and unsettled’

showers throughout other areas. Some of these showers are expected to be quite heavy.

In contrast to the humidity felt over the last week, today will be fresher, with breezes particularly along coastal areas.

Tonight, though, the rain will return in earnest. ‘On Saturday night and into early Sunday morning, a persistent band of rain is likely to push up from the south, so we’ll possibly have another heavy episode of rain then,’ said Ms Gavin.

‘So really, our weather will be more changeable and unsettled over the weekend.’

The Road Safety Authority yesterday urged motorists to watch out for flash flooding and aquaplaning, which occurs when a layer of water builds up between a vehicles’ tyres and the road.

Drivers were warned that waters on flooded roads could be deeper than they appear.

‘Following the recent dry weather a build-up of oil and rubber deposit may have developed on the roads,’ the RSA said in a statement. ‘After a long spell of dry weather these deposits mix with rainwater and the road becomes hazardous. The resulting greasy road surface increases stopping distances and the risk of a skid.’

However, despite the extensive rainfall expected throughout this weekend, Irish Water last night announced that it will keep water conservation orders in place for at least two weeks.

Water pressure reductions in the Greater Dublin Area will also remain in place, with Irish Water advising that the situation will remain critical at until at least mid-August.

Meanwhile, the UK was hit by torrential downpours and thunder and lightning. Over 90,000 bolts of lightning struck Britain yesterday as pressure built up after weeks of scorching sunshine turned the 37C heat into intense storms.