Hurricane Gert aftermath pushes heavy rainfall across Ireland

Met Éireann issues weather alert for 19 counties and warns of flooding risk

The west of Ireland will get between 30mms (more than an inch) and 40mms of rain overnight as the aftermath of Hurricane Gert sweeps over the country.

Mace Head, a weather station in Connemara, recorded 18mms of rain on Sunday afternoon, with 14mms in parts of Kerry.

The thundery and heavy downpours were as a result of Hurricane Gert which turned into a deep Atlantic depression as it crossed the ocean.

Met Éireann forecaster Liz Gavin said the heaviest rainfall will be in the mountains in the west of Ireland and will last until Monday afternoon.

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Met Éireann has issued a yellow alert for Sunday for all of Connacht and counties Dublin, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Wicklow, Offaly, Westmeath, Meath, Clare and North Tipperary.

The alert is in place until Monday at 4pm. August has already been an exceptionally wet month on the east coast and the long term forecast is for the unsettled weather to continue.

The remnants of the hurricane are also expected to bring warm and humid conditions with temperatures expected to rise to 20 degrees on Sunday.

Mist and fog are also expected along the coastal areas and hills.

However, Ulster is expected to escape the heavy rains and to remain dry for most of the day.

Surface flooding is expected on Monday with heavy downpours forcast for Connacht and Ulster.

Tomorrow will begin warm, humid and misty with patches of rain and fog. Temperatures will reach the mid-twenties in parts of Leinster and Munster.

The weather conditions are not ideal for people in Ireland to experience the full passage of a partial solar eclipse shortly before sunset.

But there is hope.

Weather permitting, the further west you are, the better the circumstances for viewing it.

The greatest extent of partial eclipse will be seen from southwest Cork, with 5.5 per cent of the Sun’s disk blocked by the Moon.

Wherever viewers are in Ireland, the partial eclipse will start at around 19:38, peak at around 8.03pm, and end at around 8.27pm.

People should not stare at the Sun or use optical instruments such as binoculars or telescopes without appropriate filters as you risk eye damage.

Rachel Flaherty

Rachel Flaherty

Rachel Flaherty is an Irish Times journalist

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy is a news reporter with The Irish Times