Floods, Global Warming and the Weather

Sceala Clann T.D. Location: Wicklow

Storm of the year will hit hard on Saturday
WARNING: Roads flooded in some areas but experts fear worse is to come

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Torrential rain forecast to hit Dublin

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By Alan O'Keeffe

Wednesday November 18 2009

FLOODS, torrential rain and winds will hit Ireland over the next 48 hours -- with experts expecting the worst weather of the year to date.

Rivers burst banks and roads were flooded in a number of areas overnight, but the flooding is expected to worsen in the coming two days, with very heavy downpours predicted for tomorrow and Saturday.

A Met Eireann forecaster told the Herald the forecast for Friday night was "very ominous".

While rainfall records may not be broken in the coming days, the underlying problem was that the country is already sodden after a very long wet period, which means flooding is now much more likely, he said.

High winds are expected to worsen the situation.

He added that councils had been "well warned" to be on flood alert throughout the country. "We're in the midst of a very wet interlude, I'm afraid," he said.

Overnight heavy rain hit the middle of the country hardest, with large amounts of rain being dumped right across the country from Dublin to Galway.

Some initial dry spells today were forecast, but heavy rain was expected across the western half of the country during the afternoon.

It will be cloudy and mild tonight with scattered outbreaks of rain. The rain will be widespread later in the night with some very heavy falls in places and a risk of flooding by morning. Southwest winds will be strong and gusty.

Tomorrow there will be a risk of further flooding in all areas, with the Midlands, South and West getting the most rain.

The heavy rain will clear early tomorrow night and Friday is expected to be a bright, cool, dry day. But very bad weather returns on Friday night and it will worsen on Saturday.

The forecast for Friday night is very heavy rain and gales sweeping up from the South, which will bear the brunt of it. Saturday will be stormy and, indeed, the storm could yet be "an exceptional event" weatherwide, the forecaster said.

"The only saving grace is that the weather will remain quite mild," he added.

The bad weather is being caused by a series of depressions coming across the Atlantic which were mixing with warm, moist air coming up from the tropics, he explained.

AA Roadwatch reported today that roads were hit with heavy rains and flooding in many parts.

Report: Flooding could make Cork and Dublin 'uninhabitable'
A report is warning that Dublin and Cork could be rendered uninhabitable in the next century as a result of global warming.
The Irish Academy of Engineers said the Government must plan to prevent permanent flooding in the country's two major cities and the cost of not acting would be catastrophic.
The IAE's report - 'Ireland at Risk' - says floods could in future happen as often as once every five years rather than once every 100 years as usual.
Don Moore from the Academy of Engineers has said failure to plan will put Irish society at unacceptable risk.

UK Faces Two-Days Of Rain, Floods And Gales
Rob Cole, Sky News Online
Britain looks set to get another battering from the weather this week with forecasters warning of heavy rain, gales and flooding.
Visitors to York brave the elements as high winds and heavy downpours
The western side of the country is expected to be worst hit by the weather
Western England, Scotland and Ireland can expect a two-day drenching, with continuous rain predicted to fall for almost 48 hours.
The rain will sweep in across Ireland on Tuesday night, spreading to northern England and north Wales by Wednesday morning.
Heavy rain and winds gusting up to 60mph are then expected to sit over Ireland, Wales, western England and southern Scotland on Thursday and Friday.
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for the end of the week.
Sky News weather presenter Lisa Burke said there was a risk of local flooding following several days of wet weather.
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Parts of Wales, the Lake District and southern Scotland are particularly at risk - with up to 100mm of rain forecast to fall.
Some 50mm is expected to fall on lower ground.
"We have got two and a half days of continuous rain in some places on top of land that's already sodden from the weekend and Monday," Lisa said.
"The sheer duration of how long it will be raining will mean there could be local floods in the West."
Despite the wind and rain, Lisa said it would be relatively mild with temperatures not expected to dip below 12C.
The bad weather follows a weekend in which Britain was hit by the biggest storm of the year so far.
Winds of 100mph caused floods along the South coast and damage to homes.

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Floods, Global Warming and the Weather