Met Éireann has issued a status orange rainfall warning the east coast this evening.
Counties Dublin, Louth, Wexford, Wicklow and Meath are covered by the warning where heavy rainfall, leading to localised flooding this evening and early tonight is forecast.
The national forecaster said there is a high risk of accumulations of between 25 and 40mm of rain, and a moderate risk of accumulations of between 40 and 50mm of rain, during the 12 hour period from 3pm .
An orange level weather warning implies that all recipients in the affected areas should prepare themselves in an appropriate way for the anticipated conditions.
Meanwhile, som e 150 homes were without electricity following high winds in Co Galway last night. The Clonfert and Banagher areas were worst affected, according to ESB Networks.
Tornado activity was also reported in the east Galway area.
At about 7pm yesterday a funnel cloud touched the ground and “is classified as a tornado at that point”, Siobhan Ryan of Met Eireann said. While that would be very low on the EF scale (measuring the strength of tornadoes it was “enough to cause destruction” she said. Such events occur across Ireland “on a widespread scale quite often” but it is “very rare when they touch the ground and nearly impossible to forecast”, she told Today FM radio earlier.
