Motorists hoping for a swift getaway from Dublin this evening will find the usual bank holiday weekend traffic jams compounded by a combination of Luas works and heavy rain.
Luas construction works on both the north and south sides of the city, particularly in the O'Connell Street and St Stephen's Green areas, have caused tailbacks of up to five miles in recent days.
Although work on most sites will halt over the weekend, traffic restrictions will remain in place, AA Roadwatch has said.
Traffic on all major routes out of the city is expected to build up from early this afternoon, according to the AA, and it will remain heavy until about midday on Saturday. The Dublin to Cork routes, N7 and N8, will be particularly congested, with many people expected to travel south to attend the Cork Jazz Festival.
Trains from Dublin to Cork are also subject to restricted booking due to the festival. Iarnród Éireann is charging passengers an additional €2.50 a ticket if they travel from Dublin to Cork by rail between 1.20 p.m. today and 3.50 p.m. tomorrow. Because of extra demand created by the Jazz Festival, Iarnród Éireann is implementing "seat controls" on these trains. Passengers must pay the extra charge when buying their ticket to reserve a place on the train of their choice. This, however, will not guarantee a seat.
Reservations can be made at the Iarnród Éireann Travel Centre in Lower Abbey Street or at Heuston Station. The company has said that all tickets for today's trains are sold out and tickets for Saturday are limited.
The weather for the first half of the weekend will be "very unsettled indeed", according to Met Éireann. Bright spells this afternoon will turn to heavy showers, with a possibility of thunderstorms this evening in most areas.
While tomorrow is due to start dry and sunny, very wet and windy weather will settle in tomorrow night, and many people may find themselves battling floods for a third successive weekend.
"The weather will be worst on Saturday night," said Mr Pat Clarke, of Met Éireann. "An Atlantic storm is expected to hit the east coast late on Saturday, moving across the country in the early hours of Sunday morning. The risk of flooding cannot be ruled out."
The rain should ease off during Sunday. However, winds are expected to remain at strong gale-force or even storm-force levels. Temperatures will be low, at 7 to 10 degrees, and it will "feel much colder" because of the wind, Mr Clarke said.
Monday offers the best weather prospects for the holiday weekend. The morning will start cold, but it will be bright and dry throughout most of the day, which will be a relief to competitors in the Dublin City Marathon.
The marathon starts from Nassau Street at 9 a.m. on Monday and stretches from Clonskeagh to Templeogue on the south side and Phibsborough on the north side of the city. There will be road closures along the route from 6.30 a.m. until early afternoon.
The DART line between Connolly Station and Clontarf Road will be closed from tomorrow until Monday due to work on the East Wall bridge. DART services on the north side of the city and Drogheda suburban rail services will operate to a limited timetable. Belfast Enterprise trains will run up to 40 minutes early with bus transfers operating from Connolly Station to Drogheda.
Bus Éireann expects to carry up to 100,000 passengers over the weekend. Buses on Monday will operate to a Sunday timetable, with a number of alterations.
Stena Line expects to transport 40,000 passengers and 9,000 cars on its Dún Laoghaire, Dublin Port and Rosslare ferries, while more than 215,000 passengers are due to arrive or depart from Dublin Airport over the weekend.
