Weather warnings: Status yellow rain alerts in place for Cork and southeast counties

Conditions may hinder those hoping to catch a glimpse of Monday evening’s partial solar eclipse

Stormy seas at Poolbeg Lighthouse in Dublin during Storm Kathleen on Saturday. Photograph: Tom Honan
Stormy seas at Poolbeg Lighthouse in Dublin during Storm Kathleen on Saturday. Photograph: Tom Honan

Yellow weather warnings for rain are in place for counties in the south and southeast on Monday as the country emerges from Storm Kathleen.

Met Éireann is forecasting heavy rain in counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Waterford and Cork, with potential flooding.

The status yellow warnings will remain in place until midnight, except in Cork, where the warning will expire at 7pm this evening.

Rain will be persistent throughout the day across Leinster, with rain and drizzle pushing northwards. It will be mostly dry in the west. Highest temperatures will straddle between 5 and 10 degrees.

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Nationally, weather will remain unsettled, with the evening set to bring milder temperatures.

The weather may pose an issue for those hoping to catch a glimpse of Monday evening’s partial solar eclipse. Rain will be persist in the midlands, south and east of the country into the evening, with the eclipse set to begin at 7.55pm.

Western counties – where the best views of the eclipse are promised – will likely dodge the worst of the rain. It will stay largely dry, with just a few scattered showers, according to Met Éireann. Temperatures on Monday evening will linger around 7 degrees.

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David Moore, chairman of Astronomy Ireland, said that finding an unobstructed view of the western horizon will provide the best view of the celestial event.

“You don’t want trees, buildings, hills or anything in your way,” he said. “The ideal place would be on top of a hill overlooking the sea.

“In fact, if there was no such thing as weather, the ideal place would probably be on the top of one of the mountains on the west coast – maybe Croagh Patrick, for instance.”

All weather warnings will expire at midnight. Although there will be a few showers, Tuesday will be a generally dry day with sunny spells. Highest temperatures will move between 8 and 12 degrees.

Fiachra Gallagher

Fiachra Gallagher

Fiachra Gallagher is an Irish Times journalist