Met Éireann has issued a Status Yellow rainfall warning for four counties in the northwest of the country.
The warning – issued at 4:00pm this afternoon – will affect counties Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo and Mayo, and is valid from 5:00am tomorrow (Wednesday, September 2).
The warning will remain valid for 12 hours, expiring at 5:00pm tomorrow.
During this time period, Met Éireann is predicting 25mm to 35mm of rainfall in these counties. Localised spot flooding will be a possibility.
Window for hedge-cutting opens
In other news, farmers and agricultural contractors can once again break out the tractors and hedge-cutters as the hedge-cutting season opens today (Tuesday, September 1).
The window for cutting hedges will remain open until the annual hedge-cutting ban under the Wildlife Act comes into force next year on March 1.
Teagasc has the following advice for farmers when it comes to managing hedgerows, depending on the type of hedge:
- Hedgerows with a dense base;
- ‘Escaped’ hedgerows;
- Relict hedgerows.
Hedgerows with a dense base: Trim from a wide base with sloping sides to a triangular shape, leaving mature trees and new saplings, including thorns, at irregular intervals.
‘Escaped’ hedgerows: ‘Escaped’ hedgerows occur through lack of management and are hedgerows that have grown high and escaped, losing their dense base, but not yet becoming a line of mature trees with a full canopy.
Relict hedgerows: Relict hedgerows are where the shrubs have grown to mature trees with a full canopy, while others have died out and have not been replaced, leaving large gaps.
Teagasc advises leaving these alone. The wildlife value of these relict hedgerows is in the canopy, which provides food, shelter, home and highway for bats, birds and other species.