Weather warnings issued for 30 counties ahead of Bank Holiday as heavy rain expected

Update: 1.15pm, 4 August

Weather conditions over the next few days are set to be "rather mixed".

Several weather warnings have been issued ahead of the August bank holiday weekend as heavy rain is expected to impact most of the country. The first of these alerts is a Met Éireann Status Yellow rain warning for Connacht, Clare and Tipperary that is scheduled to last from 8pm on Friday (4 August) until 8am on Saturday. On top of this, a second Status Yellow rain warning from the Irish meteorological service has also been issued for Leinster, Monaghan and Cavan and is set to take effect from 11pm on Friday until 10am the next day. Met Éireann has said both alerts were published over "spells of heavy rain" which may lead to "spot flooding, poor visibility and difficult travelling conditions".

Spells of heavy rain from Friday afternoon to Saturday morning⚠️?️

Possible impacts: Spot flooding Poor visibility Difficult travelling conditions⤵️https://t.co/l8JdKfxxiH pic.twitter.com/n9PIL3oTsf — Met Éireann (@MetEireann) August 3, 2023

The UK Met Office has also published a Status Yellow rain warning for all of Northern Ireland from midnight on Friday to 11am on Saturday. As well as the rain alerts, there is also a Status Yellow wind warning in place for Cork, Kerry and Waterford, as the counties are set to see gusts of up to 110km/hr. This alert is set to be in place from 4am to midday on Saturday. Possible impacts of the wind listed by the Irish meteorological service are "falling branches, damage to temporary structures and difficult travelling conditions." Meanwhile, Met Éireann's national outlook for the August bank holiday weekend as a whole reads:

"A rather mixed August Bank Holiday Weekend. Wet and windy for a time Friday night and Saturday morning with yellow level rain and wind warnings in operation, followed by sunshine and showers with further persistent rain coming through on Monday."

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