Met Éireann has upgraded its weather warnings ahead of a wet and blustery day tomorrow (Sunday, September 24).
The national forecaster said that there will be spells of heavy rain to finish this week which will be accompanied by strong and gusty winds.
The highest rain accumulations will be on hills and mountains.
The conditions will lead to localised flooding, poor visibility and potential travel disruption.
Met Éireann
A Status Orange warning for “intense rainfall over a relatively short period” has been issued for Waterford from midday until 6:00p.m on Sunday.
The first Status Yellow rain warning will come into force at 9:00a.m on Sunday for Carlow; Kilkenny; Wexford; Wicklow; Cork and Waterford.
This weather warning is expected to remain in place until 6:00p.m on Sunday.
Another Status Yellow weather warning for heavy rain will run from 11:00am until 8:00p.m on Sunday. This warning currently applies to Donegal; Galway; Mayo and Sligo.
Finally, there is a Status Yellow wind warning for Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow which will be valid from 3:00p.m until 7:00p.m on Sunday.
The southerly winds will be very strong and gusty, particularly in coastal areas and on higher ground.
Rain
Met Éireann said that the next seven days will remain much wetter than normal for most of the country.
Rainfall totals are expected to be between two and four times normal for this time of the year.
The west and south of the country will be the wettest regions.
There will be some mild spells over the coming week but overall the mean air temperatures will be around average or slightly below. Mean soil temperatures will remain slightly above normal.
A potato blight advisory is currently in effect as weather conditions conducive to the spread of potato blight will affect all regions from Sunday morning to Monday afternoon (September 25).
Spraying opportunities will be extremely limited over the coming days, with often blustery conditions and frequent precipitation combined with generally poor field trafficability.
The conditions for drying over the coming week will also be mainly poor.
Met Éireann said that all well drained soils will become saturated this week, many moderately drained soils and all poorly drained soils will become waterlogged.