Main points
- Met Éireann status-yellow warnings are in place for 18 counties on Wednesday.
- A yellow rain warning – for Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Cork, Tipperary and Waterford – came into effect at 11pm on Tuesday and runs until 11pm on Wednesday.
- Separately, a status yellow wind warning is in place for counties Wexford, Wicklow, Dublin, Meath and Louth until 1pm.
- Another separate yellow snow and ice warning is in place for Donegal until 2pm.
- The Met Office has issued a rain and snow warning for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Derry. This is valid until 8pm on Wednesday
Waterford City and County Council is asking people not to drive through floodwater or bypass Road Closed signs as it comes under a yellow weather warning for rain.
There “should be” sandbags for everyone who needs them
Keith Leonard, Chairperson of the National Emergency Coordination Group has said that there “should be” sandbags for everyone who needs them in areas at risk of flooding today, reports Vivienne Clarke.
Leonard also called on motorists not to drive through flood waters and not to ignore warnings about closed roads.
Emergency services had to rescue motorists who had ignored closed road 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 Ireland in the first month of 2025 compared to this January, according to data from Met Éireann.
Johnstown Castle in Co Wexford recorded the highest total rainfall for January 2026 with 232.7 millimetres compared with 153.8mm in January 2025.
The three station that measured a decrease from 2026 to 2025 are Sherkin Island and Roches Point in Co Cork and Belmullet in Co Mayo.
‘Conditions aren’t going to be great’
Rebecca Cantwell, meteorologist with Met Éireann, has warned of the high risk of flooding in eastern areas today with outbreaks of rainfall forecast all day until 11pm, reports Vivienne Clarke.
Speaking on both 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 as 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 saw rain every day of 2026
One observatory saw 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
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
Fire and emergency body issues advice
The National Directorate for Fire & 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 Closed 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.
Eastern half of the country will get the 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
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.
