Motorists urged to take care on roads as weather warning issued for five counties

Motorists have been urged to take care on roads today as heavy rain is expected to hit the east of the country today.

Met Éireann issued the status yellow weather warning this morning for Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Wicklow and Meath.

The warning will remain in place until Wednesday at midday.

"The next 24 hours will be the coldest and the wettest," said forecaster Pat Clarke.

"Obviously drivers will have to be careful. There could be some water on the roads and there is the possibility of hail."

Temperatures today will fall to 5C, though a wind-chill factor will make it feel colder, especially around coastal areas.

"There is the possibility of downpours and there may be some thunder mixed in," Mr Clarke said. The east of the country has been hit worst by the current inclement conditions, which is an unusual occurrence, according to the forecaster.

"It is coming in from the east, so it's eastern coastal counties that are being worst affected.

"Usually this sort of weather comes in from the Atlantic so this is I suppose a turn-around on that," he said.

However, there will be some reprieve as we head into the weekend.

On Thursday and Friday temperatures will rise to up to 8C and, while there may still be some showers, there will be fewer.

"Next week is a good distance out, especially at this time of year when it can be so changeable," Mr Clarke said.

Live traffic

AA Roadwatch urged motorists to slow down as roads across the country are wet and slippery this morning.

"Roads are damp or wet in much of the country this morning following overnight rain. It's particularly wet in parts of the midlands and along the east coast," AA Roadwatch said.

"When driving on wet roads slow down and leave a safe distance between yourself and the vehicle in front."

In Dublin, it is very busy heading from the M1/M50 Interchange towards the Port Tunnel where the left lane of the southbound bore is blocked by a breakdown.

There are also inbound delays on the Navan Road from before the Ashtown roundabout to the Baggot Road junction where a collision is blocking the right lane.

AA Roadwatch is reporting that traffic lights are out of action at Terenure Cross and it's slow heading into the city from Terenure through Rathgar and on towards Rathmines.

Meanwhile, in Limerick one lane of the N69 remains blocked eastbound as emergency services deal with a crash on the city side of Askeaton.

In Clare, emergency services are treating an extensive fuel spill on a stretch of the Tulla/Sixmilebridge Road (R462) between Kilkishen Village and Sixmilebridge. Gardaí have advised motorists to avoid the route until further notice.

Traffic is moving well in other parts of the country and there are no reports of any major floods.