Flood warnings for Munster and Leinster

Caitlin McBride

Don't get rid of your raincoat just yet, the heavy rain is here to stay.

Met Eireann has warned of flash flooding throughout the country, with rain set to reach 33mm in Munster and Leinster over the next 24 hours.

Forecaster Vincent O'Shea explained: "We have warnings for much of Munster and Leinster, with rainfall to reach up to 33mm over the next 24 hour period, taking its way through to tomorrow morning.

"There is some very heavy rain forming in places this morning. It's bad enough in Dublin, but it's much worse in South Munster – in places like Waterford and Cork areas.

"We are expecting this wet spell to continue right through to the end of Thursday.

"Expect overcast and a lot more rain to come."

Relevant bodies such as ESB and AA Roadwatch have been notified of the weather warnings, as motorists in particular will be affected over the coming days.

"We're anaging the situation and there could be spot flooding in the South East," Mr O'Shea added.

"At this stage, the type of flooding we would expect might be a bit of a hazard for motorists, big pools of water on the road etc.

"Bodies lik e the AA and ESB have received warnings up to 30mm rainfall."

It's not all bad news though, as the rain is set to ease up for the weekend - but it's still not time to put the brollies away just yet.

"Things might improve for the weekend," he added.

"It might not be entirely dry from Friday onwards, buy the rain should be small."

Temperatures will fall no lower than 12 to 15 degrees in moderate southeast winds and thunder and lightning will also occur throughout the day.