THERE IS little respite in store for communities worst-affected by the floods of recent days, Met Éireann has warned.
Heavy rain which was forecast last night, especially in the western seaboard counties of Galway and Clare, will make a bad situation worse and further showers are forecast for today.
The western half of the country is likely to get more rain today up to 25 millimetres (one inch) in places though it will be more showery than it has been in recent days and the wind will not be as strong.
Tomorrow will be cold and blustery. There is a risk of heavy rain in the south and frost may develop in places.
Saturday and Sunday look like being relatively dry days, but rain is forecast for the east of the country, which has escaped the worst of the weather, on Sunday evening.
It is going to turn notably colder over the weekend with frost expected in many places and sleet and snow on the mountains.
Met Éireann forecaster Gerry Scully said some places may get a further 25 millimetres to 40 millimetres of rain in the coming days on top of all the rainfall that has fallen in recent weeks.
He said it was not possible to say with any certainty which areas would be worst-affected, but they were most likely to be in the west.
“You can’t give a blanket figure for the country. Showers by nature are very localised. Some areas might get hammered. Others a few miles away may escape relatively lightly,” he said.
“Unfortunately it is the areas [already] worst affected that are going to get most of the showers.”
RONAN McGREEVY