Storms Dudley and Eunice to impact Ireland this week

Two low-pressure systems named by the UK Met Office will also impact Ireland this week, with Storm Dudley on Wednesday and Storm Eunice on Thursday night and Friday.

Met Éireann has issued a nationwide yellow wind warning for Storm Dudley from Wednesday afternoon until Thursday afternoon, with very strong and gusty westerly winds forecast. The Met Office has also issued wind warnings for Northern Ireland.

Met Éireann meteorologist Liz Coleman said: “Whilst Wednesday will be a windy and gusty day everywhere, the winds will be especially strong in hilly areas and along exposed coasts where we could have gusts reaching 80-110km/h at times.  The strong winds in combination with high tides could lead to large coastal waves and some coastal flooding in parts of the west and northwest.”

Storm Dudley will also bring spells of heavy rain which may cause some localised spot flooding, particularly over the western half of the country.  Following Storm Dudley’s clearance on Thursday morning, another low-pressure system named Storm Eunice will arrive on Thursday evening, bringing multiple hazards including strong winds, heavy rain and snow.

Meteorologist Liz Coleman continued: “Storm Eunice will quickly develop in the Atlantic on Thursday and arrive on our shores on Thursday evening.  This system will bring strong winds, spells of heavy rain and snow on Thursday night, leading to multiple hazards and the potential for damage and disruption to travel, especially on Friday morning.

“A Weather Advisory is in place for Thursday night and Friday and current indications suggest the strongest winds are likely to be across the southern half of the country, with the most significant snowfalls over central and northern parts of the country.  Further heavy rainfall may lead to river and spot flooding in parts of the north west. Weather warnings are likely to be issued in the coming day, so we’re advising people to keep a close eye on the forecast and warnings.”

For the most accurate and up to date forecast for your area on the Island of Ireland go to met.ie. The latest weather advisories and warnings for Ireland are on the Met Éireann Warnings page. These services and more are available on our free app – available from the App store for iPhone, and Play store for Android.