The first storms of the year, Storm Austen and Storm Boelo, are set to hit the island of Ireland this weekend, bringing heavy winds and rain to all areas. Orange weather warnings are in place for the south and east, with intense rain and flooding forecast.
Storm Austen Hits South and East
Storm Austen will approach the southern coastline on Thursday evening, with Status Orange rain warnings issued for Cork, Kerry, and Waterford, where the impact will be felt first. Rebecca Cantwell, a meteorologist at Met Éireann, said "thankfully", the worst of the storm will take place overnight on Thursday.
A Status Yellow wind warning is also in place for all of Leinster and Munster. Ms Cantwell noted that the storm will affect events this weekend, including the Dublin Marathon and the Cork Jazz Festival. As the storm moves east overnight, Dublin, Wexford, and Wicklow will be worst affected, with a Status Orange warning in place until Friday morning.
Ms Cantwell said: "We are expecting a good drop of rain. It's going to be wet and it's going to be windy. Most of it will be overnight, but we have trees and leaves that will fall, and the ground is going to be saturated as a result of the large amount of rain expected." She added, "We could see a lot of uprooting of trees overnight as a result. There's also likely to be some surface flooding as well, and maybe river flooding."
Storm Boelo Follows from the North-West
As Storm Austen clears, Met Éireann says another storm will quickly follow. Storm Boelo will impact the opposite side of the island, approaching from the north-west with strong winds and heavy rain. These winds, combined with high tides, storm surge, and large waves, may lead to waves overtopping and coastal flooding in low-lying areas, as well as river flooding, according to Met Éireann.
The UK Met Office has issued yellow wind warnings for all of Northern Ireland for Saturday and Sunday. It says there is a chance power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services like mobile phone coverage. It also warned there is a small chance of injuries and danger to life from flying debris, as well as large waves and beach material being thrown on to sea fronts, coastal roads, and properties.
Whole Island Affected
Ms Cantwell said the whole island of Ireland will be affected by one or both storms. "The only saving grace is the different locations, Boelo in the north-west and Austen in the south-east," she said. "But there's going to be quite a bit of rain moving through, and when it's falling where rain has already fallen, we're going to see a build-up there."
She added, "If there is damage due to the winds in Austen, the structures are going to be weakened, so it's just going to be added effects on top of what we'll already have seen. But because of the positioning of the two storms, everywhere will see wet and windy conditions and a lot of things are going to be impacted this weekend."
The meteorologist warned people to take care and exercise caution when driving. "People may be travelling to see friends and family," she said. "With the possibility of a lot of trees being down, that could make for some difficult travelling conditions. Keep in contact with the forecast to see if we're going to be issuing further warnings tomorrow (Friday), so to keep an eye on those. Allow extra time for essential travel, and a key message is never to drive into floodwaters, their depths can be deceiving, so just take care if travel plans are necessary, and give it extra time and just to slow down and stay safe."
