Forecast and travel

Weather:Further spells of wet and windy weather are expected this week, Met Éireann said yesterday.

Rain in the far south is expected to clear this morning and the rest of Monday will have a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers.

According to Met Éireann’s head of forecasting, Gerald Fleming, the receding floodwaters had the potential to cause renewed flooding downstream. He said this and high winds and waves threatening coastal areas were the immediate danger over the next few days.

Tuesday would be mild and very windy with scattered outbreaks of rain, heavy at times.

The outlook for Wednesday and Thursday was for cool and windy weather with sunny spells and scattered rain or hail showers.

Thursday last was, in many places, the wettest day of the month, with Valentia Observatory recording 57.4mm, Cork Airport recording 51.2mm, and many other places registering in excess of 30mm of rainfall.

Transport :Most national and inter-city roads will be open to traffic this morning

However, road access to Galway from the east is still via the as-yet-incomplete M6 between Athlone and Galway, following severe flooding in Ballinasloe, Craughwell and Loughrea.

In Cork city the Carrigrohane Straight Road and Lee Road are expected to remain closed today. A one-way system is in place northbound from Wellington Bridge to Shanakiel. In Limerick, Plassey Bridge, known as Black Bridge, is closed. In Ennis the Gort Road remains closed to traffic and access to Abbey Street is only via Francis Street. Some minor roads are also affected.

In Kilkenny the AA has advised motorists to avoid the Kilkenny to Urlingford road. In Waterford the Tramore Road was closed yesterday, while a diversion is still in place on the N4 at the shopping centre in Carrick-On- Shannon, Co Leitrim. In Clonmel, Convent Bridge, Coleville Road and the quays remain closed.