Dublin City Council has said surface water levels remain elevated “across the city” of Dublin, as temperatures are set to turn “very cold” on Friday night, potentially reaching -4 degrees.
A nationwide status yellow low temperature and ice alert, warning of temperatures generally falling to between -1 and -3 degrees at times, comes into effect at 9pm on Friday.
Sharp frost and icy conditions are expected during the alert which lasts until 10am on Saturday, with Met Éireann warning of potentially “hazardous” travel conditions and travel disruptions.
Counties Antrim, Down, Tyrone and Derry fall under a similar warning at 8pm on Friday until 10am on Saturday.
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Met Éireann said Friday night will be “very cold”, with widespread frost and icy patches.
Apart from the “odd wintry shower” in Ulster and north Connacht, the night will be mainly dry, though lowest temperatures could range from 0 to -4 degrees on Friday night, it said.
Widespread frost and icy patches will continue into Saturday morning, with afternoon highs of just 2 to 5 degrees expected.
Counties Cork and Kerry will subsequently fall under a status yellow rain warning from midday on Saturday until midnight Sunday, with heavy rainfall expected to cause spot flooding and difficult travel conditions.
At the same time, counties Cavan, Donegal, Longford, and all of Connacht will fall under a status yellow rain and snow warning.
Met Éireann said rain, which will be heavy at times, will turn to sleet or snow, resulting in poor visibility and difficult travel conditions.
The warnings follow intense rainfall overnight across Wicklow and Dublin, where a number of areas experienced significant flooding.
In an update on Friday evening, Dublin City Council said although rainfall had eased, it was monitoring elevated surface water levels “across the city”, particularly the river Liffey in the Chapelizod area.
It added that it was working with Waterways Ireland due to heightened water levels along the Grand Canal.
Crews will remain active across the weekend to implement planned mitigation measures and address further issues as they arise, it said.
The council urged the public to exercise caution in areas where flooding “has occurred or may occur”.
Earlier on Friday, the council said it was querying the “timelines” of weather warnings issued in the early hours after the capital experienced “exceptionally heavy rainfall” overnight.
Met Éireann, which issued a status yellow rainfall warning at 2.36am on Friday, said the rain was more intense than forecast earlier on Thursday.
“This warning was issued to increase public awareness, taking account of expected intense rainfall during the morning commuting period,” it said.
Dublin City Council noted that 46mm of rain had been recorded at the Mellowes Road rain gauge overnight, with 9.6mm falling in a single hour.
Combined with already saturated grounds, this resulted in a number of flooding incidents across the city, it said.
Significant effects were reported in several areas, including Clongriffin and Ballymun, where flooding affected roads and properties.
Flooding was also reported in Swords, Santry, Rush and parts of the M1, resulting in road closures and disruptions to public transport and access to Dublin Airport.
Emergency crews were deployed throughout the night and continued to respond on Friday.
“A full review of the event has commenced in parallel with ongoing responses, including the timeliness of weather warnings/forecasts.
“We recognise the distress flooding can cause for residents and businesses and will continue to provide updates as further verified information becomes available,” the council said.
