Weather warnings forecast rain and ice as Dublin hit by flooding

Rain and ice warnings have been issued for most counties on the island of Ireland as parts of Dublin were hit by flooding.

Dublin City Council said it would review the response to the floods, including the timings of weather warnings, as it continued to respond to incidents across the city.

Some roads leading to Dublin Airport were closed and several apartment block basements in north Dublin were flooded overnight.

Griffith Park in Drumcondra and areas around the Mayne River in Clongriffin were also waterlogged.

Efforts to drain the water were under way on Friday ahead of further rain and ice warnings due to come into effect in the next 24 hours.

Forecaster Met Eireann has issued a Status Yellow low temperature and ice warning for the Republic from 9pm on Friday until 10am on Saturday.

A Status Yellow rain warning has also been issued for Cork and Kerry and a Status Yellow rain-snow warning is in place for counties Cavan, Donegal, Longford and the five counties in Connacht, with both in effect from 12pm on Saturday until midnight on Sunday.

Met Eireann said the rain will be heavy at times and turn to sleet or snow, which could create difficult travel conditions and poor visibility.

Temperatures are forecast to fall to between minus 1C and minus 3C, creating hazardous travel conditions.

The Met Office issued a yellow ice warning for counties Antrim, Down, Tyrone, and Derry which is in effect from 8pm on Friday until 10am on Saturday.

Dublin City Council said 46mm of rainfall was recorded at the Mellowes Road rain gauge, with 9.6mm falling within a single hour.

It said that a full review of the event had begun “including the timeliness of weather warnings/forecasts”.

“Combined with already saturated ground conditions, this resulted in significant surface water runoff and a number of flooding incidents across the city,” it said.

“Significant impacts were reported in several areas, including Clongriffin and Ballymun, where localised flooding affected roads and properties.

“In Clongriffin, an Uisce Éireann foul sewer surcharged, resulting in road damage and property flooding.”

Council crews were deployed throughout the night and continued the flood response on Friday and the public were urged to exercise caution and avoid driving through flooded roads.

“We recognise the distress flooding can cause for residents and businesses and will continue to provide updates as further verified information becomes available.”

Dublin Airport said flight operations were running as normal, but some roads leading to the area were closed or “trickier than usual to navigate”.

It said: “Drivers are advised to follow local diversion signage and to take extra care on the roads.”

Dublin Bus advised customers that four routes serving the airport had been diverted because of flooding at Collinstown.

Bus Eireann said adverse weather conditions and flooding has affected some roads on its scheduled services.

Several of its services in the east of the country had been cancelled or delayed.

Met Eireann said Friday night will be mainly dry but “very cold” and frosty, with some icy patches.

It said there was a chance of a few isolated showers in northern and north-western coastal parts early on.

The Met Office said the counties under a yellow warning for ice could experience wintry showers on sub-zero surfaces during Friday evening and overnight into Saturday.

It added that a slight covering of snow was possible on ground above 200 metres.

Responding to questions about the timings of flood warnings, Met Eireann said the rain on Thursday night was “more intense than forecast earlier on Thursday”.

They said: “Meteorologists observing the evolving weather situation during Thursday night and early Friday morning recognised the likely impacts of the rainfall and issued a yellow rainfall warning for Dublin and Wicklow that was valid from the time of issue (2.36am) to 12 noon on Friday. 

“This warning was issued to increase public awareness, taking account of expected intense rainfall during the morning commuting period.”