Main points
- Met Éireann status yellow warnings are in place for 17 counties on Wednesday
- A status yellow rain warning – for Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Cork, Tipperary and Waterford – came into effect at 11pm on Tuesday and runs until 11pm on Wednesday
- The yellow rain/snow warning for Donegal expired at 2pm while the yellow rain warning remains in place until 11pm this evening
- The Met Office has issued a rain and snow warning for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Derry. This is valid until 8pm on Wednesday
- Kerry’s Valentia Observatory recorded rain every day in 2026
Thankfully, the weather has not been as bad as expected in many areas today. However, road users have still been urged to take extra caution this evening.
Met Éireann has warned that poor visibility and difficult travelling conditions are likely, particularly in the 17 counties under a status yellow rain warning.
This warning will remain in place for Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Cork, Tipperary and Waterford until 11pm.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, more rain is on the way but no weather warnings are due to be in place.
Scattered showers or more persistent spells of rain will move northeastwards across the country on Thursday with drier and brighter conditions following from the southwest, Met Éireann said.
Highest temperatures will range from 5 to 10 degrees.
There will be a wet start to Friday with widespread outbreaks of rain, heavy at times. The rain is expected to clear eastwards throughout the morning with sunny spells and scattered showers following from the west later.
More rain is expected on Friday evening, though. Highest temperatures will range from 9 to 12 degrees.
Gritting is occurring this evening on roads in the Baltinglass, Blessington and Roundwood areas, Wicklow County Council has said.
“Never assume any road surface is treated and drive to the condition of the road,” the council said.
A wind warning for Wexford, Wicklow, Dublin, Meath and Louth expired at 1pm, and a snow and ice warning in Donegal ended at 2pm.
Seventeen counties - all of Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Cork, Tipperary and Waterford - will remain under a yellow rain warning until 11pm.
All six counties in Northern Ireland - Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Derry - will be under a yellow rain and snow warning until 8pm.
As 17 counties continue to deal with weather warnings, there is some good news: Met Éireann said temperatures will become “milder than average for the time of year” from Friday onwards.
There will be more rain on Thursday and Friday but, currently, no weather warnings are due to be in effect on either day.
Outbreaks of rain will continue on Friday but there will also be some sunny spells, according to Met Éireann.
Highest temperatures are expected to increase to 12 or 13 degrees on Friday and over the weekend.
Spokesmen for Meath County Council and Cavan County Council said they are not aware of any weather-related incidents in their counties so far.
Marine warnings in place
A yellow small craft warning is in place for Slyne Head to Belfast Lough to Dungarvan until 6pm on Wednesday.
A status-yellow gale warning has been issued from Mizen Head to Malin Head to Hook Head and on the Irish Sea until 6pm this evening.
There is a yellow small craft warning in place from Rossan Point to Fair Head to Carlingford Lough that comes into force at 6pm on Wednesday and will expire at 4am on Thursday.
Another yellow small craft warning, from Carnsore Point to Mizen Head to Rossan Point, is issued from 11pm on Wednesday and expires at 6pm on Thursday.
A yellow gale warning from Roche’s Point to Valentia to Erris Head has been issued from 11pm on Wednesday to 12pm on Thursday.
A day for the ducks
Irish Times photographer Enda O’Dowd shares photographs from Clontarf in Dublin.
Wind warning ends
The yellow wind warning issued for Wexford, Wicklow, Dublin, Meath and Louth expired at 1pm this afternoon.
The yellow rain/snow warning for Donegal expired at 2pm while the yellow rain warning remains in place until 11pm this evening.
In a post on X, Met Éireann said that rain will be confined to the east in the afternoon with only scattered showers in the west of Ireland.
Man swept away by river Loire following flooding in France
In France, a man trying to navigate the swollen river Loire has been swept away, officials said on Wednesday.
Much of western France has been placed under high alert for floods, with yet more heavy rain expected.
The 53-year-old man fell off a small boat or a kayak south of the city of Angers, BFM TV reported.
Search operations were underway but considering the flow and speed of the Loire after such heavy rains “there is objectively little chance of finding that person”, senior official Francois Pesneau told BFM TV and other local media.
French environment minister Monique Barbut said the level of humidity in soils in France was unseen since 1959, after more than 30 days of bad weather. - Reuters
Tipperary County Council’s severe weather action team is monitoring the situation across the county and said it will “react accordingly”.
“At this time, the team is hopeful that the event will pass without significant impact,” said a spokesman for the council.
No overnight incidents in Co Wicklow
A spokeswoman for Wicklow County Council confirmed there have been no reports of any incidents overnight.
“We will continue to assess conditions across the county throughout the day.”
Motorists and commuters have been advised to travel with caution, allow extra time for journeys and to reduce speed.
The public is also encouraged to stay informed by monitoring the Met Éireann website and to heed all current warnings.
South Dublin not experiencing any issues ‘at present’, says council
A spokeswoman for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council said there are “no issues at present”.
The council’s water services and cleansing crews have been carrying out preventative checks at key hotspots, monitoring screens, inspecting drainage systems and ensuring gullies and vulnerable locations are cleared.
This morning, they carried out checks at recent flooding hotspots.
Waterford City and County Council is asking people not to drive through floodwater or bypass road closure signs while the yellow weather warning for rain is in effect.
Sandbags ‘should be’ available for everyone in flood-risk areas
Keith Leonard, chairperson of the National Emergency Coordination Group, has said there “should be” sandbags for everyone who needs them in areas at risk of flooding today, reports Vivienne Clarke.
Leonard also urged motorists not to drive through flood waters and not to ignore warnings about closed roads.
Emergency services had to rescue motorists who ignored road closure warnings during recent floods and they did not want that situation repeated, he told Newstalk Breakfast and RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
The situation today was “complex” given the combination of high onshore winds, high tides and heavy rainfall.
Further flooding was anticipated given the difficult surface conditions, particularly along the east coast, he said.
Local authorities were “fully deployed”, providing sandbags and preparing temporary flood defences and pumping systems.
Total rainfall increased at all but three weather stations in the first month of 2025 compared with this January, according to data from Met Éireann.
Johnstown Castle in Co Wexford recorded the highest total rainfall for January 2026 with 232.7mm compared with 153.8mm in January 2025.
The three stations that measured a decrease from 2026 to 2025 are Sherkin Island and Roches Point in Co Cork and Belmullet in Co Mayo.
Eastern areas at high risk of flooding, says meteorologist
Met Éireann meteorologist Rebecca Cantwell has warned of a high risk of flooding in eastern areas today with outbreaks of rainfall forecast all day until 11pm, reports Vivienne Clarke.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast and RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Cantwell said the combination of rain, high winds and high tides on the east coast means the risk of tidal flooding along the east coast.
“Conditions aren’t going to be great,” she said about areas surrounding the Comeragh Mountains and Wicklow Mountains where run-off will pose risks of flooding.
A cold air front also means that rain in the northwest could fall as sleet or snow.
The outlook will remain unsettled until the weekend when “there will be a little bit of respite” and temperatures could rise from 10 degrees to 13 degrees.
The ongoing rain is a result of a low pressure system in the Atlantic that “continues to dominate”, she explained.
So far rainfall in the east in February has been 200 per cent of the average while in the west it is only 34 per cent.
Kerry’s Valentia Observatory recorded rain every day in 2026
One observatory recorded rain every day so far this year, according to data from Met Éireann.
The national forecaster’s data shows it rained for each of the last 47 days, from January 1st to February 16th, at Valentia Observatory in Co Kerry, reports Sarah Burns.
A “rain day” is defined by the forecaster as one where 0.1mm or more of rainfall is recorded at some point during the day.
The total rainfall accumulated at Valentia so far this year is 281.9mm, with individual days ranging from 21.8mm on January 27th to just 0.1mm on January 23rd.
France issues red flooding alerts
On the Continent, France has issued red alerts for flooding in three departments as the aftermath of Storm Nils causes chaos across the country.
Flood waters have inundated homes and isolated villages after the Garonne River overflowed its banks, with hydrologists warning that rain is falling on soils that have hit record-breaking levels of saturation.
Météo France said red flood alerts would remain in place on Wednesday in Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne and Maine-et-Loire but the number of counties under orange alert would fall from 14 to 12.
Monique Barbut, minister for the ecological transition, said a state of emergency – necessary to fast-track insurance claims – would be declared once the floods had ended.
France’s floods come after a series of storms have battered Portugal and Spain, leaving at least 16 dead and forcing thousands to flee their homes. – Guardian
Areas not under yellow warning are also at risk of flooding, warns emergency response group
The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) convened a meeting on Tuesday with local authorities, Met Éireann, relevant Government departments, State agencies and utility providers to prepare for the incoming heavy rain and associated flooding risk.
Flooding is a risk across the country due to the current conditions, it said in a statement. Whether or not a yellow rain warning is in place for a county, all areas will remain at risk of flooding.
NDFEM reiterated advice to monitor forecasts and local authority channels; to avoid bypassing road closure signs or driving through floodwater; to allow for disruption while commuting; to check on the vulnerable; to stay away from riverbanks and coastal edges; and to stay away from fallen live wires.
Carlow, Waterford, Kilkenny, Wicklow and north Louth face highest rainfall
Met Éireann senior forecaster Gerry Murphy said there was another band of rain moving slowly up from the southwest across the country on Wednesday, reports Sarah Burns.
Murphy said the eastern half of the country will get the highest rainfall, including in Carlow, Waterford, Kilkenny, Wicklow and north Louth.
He said between 30 and 50mm of rainfall would be expected in counties with a yellow rain warning.
Murphy said there was 114mm of rainfall in the Phoenix Park in Dublin over the past two weeks, which was “450 per cent of its average” for the first half of February.
“The east of the country has got well above average rainfall,” he said.
Belmullet in Co Mayo and Malin Head in Donegal have had below-average rainfall, but that will change “over the coming week”, he said.
Siobhán Ryan of Met Éireann, after detailing the weather warnings, said various impacts could be expected including river and coastal flooding and with surface water too, there was potential for difficult travelling conditions.
There was also potential, she said on RTÉ’s 9.30pm weather broadcast, for falling trees along the east coast with onshore winds.
Rain across the eastern half of the country would be very heavy and persistent at times “with high winds coupled with storm surge and high spring tides leading to the potential for that flooding”.
In a Tuesday night forecast, she added the rain across the eastern half of the country would be “relentless”.
Weather warnings in place
Yellow wind and rain warnings in place
A yellow wind warning is in place for Wexford, Wicklow, Dublin, Meath and Louth until 1pm this afternoon. Met Éireann said strong and gusty southeasterly winds combined with high tides may lead to wave overtopping, fallen trees, loose debris and difficult travelling conditions.
A yellow rain warning has been issued for Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Cork, Tipperary and Waterford and is valid until 11pm tonight. The national forecaster said rain falling on already saturated ground combined with high river levels will lead to flooding, poor visibility and difficult travelling conditions.
Donegal has been issued with a rain/snow warning valid until 2pm this afternoon. Rain will be heavy at times and turn to sleet or snow, which together with strengthening winds will lead to poor visibility and difficult travelling conditions.
A yellow rain and snow warning has also been issued to Northern Irish counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry until 8pm this evening.
