Storm Bert: Red warning issued for two counties as Met Éireann ...

The red warning for both counties will begin at midnight on Friday night and last until 10am Saturday morning.

The RSA is advising people in Cork and Galway to “avoid any travel during the storm window”.

Counties Waterford, Kerry, Clare, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim will be under an Orange warning for the same time period. Road users in these counties are advised that: “Storm Bert will bring Intense falls of rain over a short period of time. Surface flooding and possible river flooding are expected as well as dangerous travelling conditions. Road users in areas affected are advised to exercise caution and check local traffic and weather conditions before setting out on a journey”.

Met Éireann is warning people in Galway and Cork of “Severe flooding, damage to homes & businesses and dangerous/treacherous travelling conditions”.

In the counties affected by the Orange warning, Met Éireann is warning of “Surface flooding, possible river flooding, very difficult travelling conditions and poor visibility”.

A Status yellow weather warning for the entire country will begin on Friday night and run until midday on Saturday.

People have been warned to stay away from rivers, streams and exposed coastal areas as Storm Bert is set to batter Ireland from tonight with winds of up to 110kmh and torrential rainfall.

Some areas could receive between 60mm and 100mm of rainfall in the space of less than 48 hours from the second Atlantic storm of the season.

Combined with melt from the snow, sleet and ice after Ireland's Arctic snap since Wednesday, the rainfall has the potential to turn streams and rivers into raging torrents.

Weather-weary householders also face the risk of potential power cuts after 10,000 homes and businesses lost power during the Siberian weather over the past 48 hours.

Met Éireann’s Gerry Murphy urged the public to heed the weather warning and the guidance issued by local authorities today. He said the effects of Storm Bert will be largely felt on Friday night and Saturday morning but that Bert will linger around parts of Ireland for much of the weekend.

He said the volume of rain due to fall was the most worrisome aspect of the storm, given snow is still melting from the current cold snap in many parts of the country.

"The red level rainfall amounts are likely to be experienced in the western half of Galway and also in the western half of Cork. The reason they go red is because of the potential of significant rainfall. But then in the river catchments around there, there’s a significant possibility of flooding as well. On top of what was quite a lot of snow, but that melts and they there was also a lot of rain as well. So all the combination of all those events has led us to to basically be extra vigilant for western parts of Cork and western parts of Galway.

"It must be said, when you when you mention red levels of rainfall for western parts of Cork, you cannot eliminate the fact that that could move into some of the mountainous areas in eastern parts of Kerry in the same way, western parts of Galway also overlap very much with the southern parts of Mayo. So whether they are upgraded to a red or not, the areas in the vicinity of West Cork, such as mountainous areas of East Kerry and also southern parts of Mayo, would also need to be extremely vigilant. But it must be said that an orange level rainfall warning is a significant amount of rainfall, because this is over a 12 hour period, which means that that means there's a lot of rain in the 12 hours, on top of melting melting snow, which will add to the potential for flooding,” Mr Murphy told RTÉ News at One.

7-Day Weather Forecast: 18th November - 24th November 2024

Met Éireann warned that Storm Bert is likely to bring very intense rainfall over a short period of time.

A nationwide Status Yellow wind and rain warning is in effect until noon on Saturday.

Fears are mounting that the short, very intense rainfall could see parts of the south and west receive between 60mm and 100mm of rain in less than 48 hours.

The storm will impact Ireland from late on Friday night but its effects could be felt through Saturday and Sunday into Monday.

Dr Jennifer Keenahan, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, University College Dublin, said: “Storm Bert has formed as a deep low-pressure system in the Atlantic and will displace the current cold Arctic air mass as it approaches Ireland. This atmospheric clash is particularly significant as it will bring a dramatic shift from our current cold conditions to milder but more turbulent weather.

"The storm's timing is concerning because it will bring heavy rainfall onto already saturated ground.

“From a structural engineering perspective, Storm Bert presents several critical concerns for our bridge infrastructure. The combination of heavy rainfall and strong winds creates multiple challenges for our bridges. The saturated ground conditions significantly increase the risk of scour around bridge foundations, where fast-moving water can erode the supporting soil beneath bridge piers. This is particularly worrisome when coupled with the intense rainfall predicted for this evening. The storm surge and wave action will create both lateral and vertical forces on bridge structures. These forces can be especially problematic as they can generate upward pressures on bridge decks. When combined with potential debris carried by flood waters, these forces can substantially increase the loads on bridge elements,” Dr Keenahan said.

Dr Mary Bourke, Associate Professor, Trinity College Dublin, said the impact of Storm Bert may be significant for several reasons, including:

“'Intense' rainfall indicates that the ground may not have time to absorb the rain as it falls (too much-too quickly). This will lead water moving over the land quickly.

“The current model outputs show that the heaviest rainfalls will fall in the uplands (mountains). These are steeper terrains and water will move quickly down these valleys.

“Intense rainfall in the mountains increases the risk of landslides (peat slides) in the mountains.

“'rain-on-snow' is an extra layer of risk. As the falling rain may speed up the snowmelt which will add to the overall volume of water moving down from the mountains to the towns and villages.

“To the best of my knowledge, 'rain-on-snow' events are not included in flood risk models in Ireland,” Dr Bourke said.

Storm Bert will displace the Arctic air mass over Ireland and replace it with heavy rainfall and very strong winds.

Temperatures will surge by up to six degrees as milder, wilder conditions dominate.

Heavy rainfall is also expected to cause localised road flooding and potential travel disruption.

Status Orange snow and ice alerts for six counties were lifted on Thursday afternoon - but Met Éireann's Síobhan Ryan warned that snow, ice and Siberian temperatures can again be expected until Friday evening.

Some areas may see further snow flurries on Friday before the full impact of Storm Bert is felt.

A Status Yellow low temperature warning for the entire country has been extended until 12 noon on Friday.

"Friday will be mostly dry, icy and frosty to start out. Temperatures will step up but it will still be quite cold. It will all change for the weekend as we move into a spell of wetter, windy and possibly stormy, impactful weather," she said.

"Friday night will be very wet and windy with heavy rain from the south west and will be accompanied by very strong and gusting south easterly winds."

The worst of the Arctic spell hit parts of Kerry, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Galway and Mayo - while areas of Donegal resembled the North Pole with snow-covered fields and forests.

Gardaí admitted they were flooded with reports of ice-related collisions and roads left impassable by the snow during the Thursday morning commute.

Such was the sheer weight of the snowfalls in parts of Mayo and Galway that trees were brought down, damaging power lines and leaving thousands of people without power.

Nationwide, over 10,000 people lost power due to the fall-out from the icy conditions, the majority in Galway, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Cork and Kerry.

ESB repair crews began work immediately and it was hoped all households would have power supplies restored by Thursday evening.

A number of schools opted to close because of the challenging travel conditions - while others delayed their opening time to allow transport services to benefit from the mid-morning thaw.

Councils in Munster and Connacht had to deploy snow ploughs given that snow falls amounted to more than 20cm in areas.

Cork Co Council convened its severe weather assessment team given the scale of snow and ice across the county.

"The worst affected areas include Newmarket, Rockchapel, Charleville, Mitchelstown, Macroom, Millstreet and Coachford," a spokesperson said.

Council crews carried out pre-emptive gritting overnight and have been repeating salting and gritting since early this morning.

Gritting operations will continue into Friday.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) and ardaí appealed to motorists to drive with extreme care given the treacherous conditions.

Gardaí urged motorists to slow down, allow a safe braking distance to vehicles in front and to travel with a fully charged mobile phone for safety.

Drivers were also urged to check that their vehicles were winter ready with proper tyre depths, good windscreen wipers and fully functioning lights.