Very heavy rain is expected over the coming three days in counties Cork and Kerry with yellow and orange weather warnings in place for both counties.
A yellow rain warning is in place since Monday at 3pm and will end at 12pm on Wednesday for both counties.
That will be replaced with an orange weather warning until 12pm on Thursday. A yellow rain warning is also in place for Waterford for the same time.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday could bring 30mm of rain each day to parts of Cork and Kerry especially at higher elevations.
“Given the persistent nature of the rainfall with a combination of elevated river levels, onshore winds and high tides, we have upgraded it to an orange rain warning,” Met Éireann forecaster Liz Gavin said.
The forecasted rain has led to Cork City Council warning of flooding in low-lying areas of the city with officials urging the public to put precautionary measures in place.
It said floods are most likely on Wednesday morning, due to the high tide occurring at 7.32am.
These will be the highest tides of the next few days and have the potential to affect properties on the low-lying quays.
Cork City Council has advised to those in the affected areas to protect their property during the high tidal events eg erect their tidal barriers Monday and Tuesday evening and leave them in place overnight.
The rest of the country will see heavy rain over the coming days but it will also be much milder than of late with temperatures reach 15 degrees on Thursday.
The long-term forecast for St Patrick’s Day looks good for a dry and sunny day.
- Listen to our Inside Politics Podcast for the latest analysis and chat
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
