Storm Babet weather warnings extended to entire country amid Met Éireann update

Met Éireann's weather warning for Storm Babet has been extended to the rest of the country with awful conditions set to take hold for more than 24 hours.

The national forecaster has now issued a series of Status Orange and Status Yellow warnings for the woeful weather which will impact most counties from Tuesday afternoon.

The first Status Orange rain warning has been issued for Cork, Kerry and Waterford and predicts "heavy rain, strong and gusty east to southeast winds at times." The warning will be in place until 1pm on Wednesday.

They list possible impacts in those counties as "flooding, poor visibility, dangerous road conditions and possible wave overtopping at high tide."

A Status Yellow rain warning is also in place for Leinster, Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan. Again, it warns that "spells of rain will be heavy at times, with strong and gusty east to southeast winds at times." It remains in place until 8pm on Wednesday.

A second Status Yellow rain warning has been issued for Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Connacht. It is in place until 6pm on Wednesday.

Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather said: "Storm Babet isn’t our usual storm that hits and moves on by next day. This system will stall and spin around dropping huge volumes of rain in parts. By Saturday it could bring over 90mm to many parts of Ireland, Scotland could see over 150-200mm. Flooding risk is very high."

"The high resolution Met Éireann HARMONIE model is generally the best model for this time frame and it shows over 50mm in 24 hours in parts of the South. This is the worst case scenario but it is likely sadly," he added.

Looking closer to the weekend, it will stay "unsettled with further spells of rain and showers, turning cooler too," according to Met Éireann.

They say "Tuesday will become wet and breezy. Through the morning, rain will spread across Munster, south Leinster and parts of south Connacht and then extend across the rest of the country during the afternoon. The rain will be heavy and thundery at times with localised flooding possible, especially in the southwest. Highest temperatures of 9 to 14 degrees with fresh, gusty east to southeast winds.

"It will continue wet and breezy on Tuesday night with strong easterly winds for a time in the north, and with heavy rain moving northwards, followed by scattered showers. The rain may cause localised flooding. Lowest temperatures of 9 to 13 degrees in a moderate to fresh and gusty east to southeast wind, strong in coastal areas.

"Wednesday will see further heavy rain moving north with spot flooding likely. The wet weather becoming mainly confined to the east and north during the evening. Milder than recent days, with highest temperatures of 13 to 16 degrees, in a moderate to fresh and gusty east to southeast wind, easing in southern areas later.

"On Wednesday night there will be more outbreaks of rain and it will be generally cloudy with some mist and fog. Heavy rain will continue in the northeast. Lowest temperatures of 8 to 13 degrees in a light to moderate easterly or variable wind.

"Thursday morning will be mostly cloudy with outbreaks of rain. Through the afternoon the rain will clear northwards, followed by scattered heavy showers and some sunny intervals. Highest temperatures of 13 to 16 degrees in a light to moderate easterly wind.

"Mostly cloudy with scattered showers [Thursday night], some turning heavy. Lowest temperatures of 10 to 13 degrees in a light to moderate easterly wind."

On Friday, forecasters foresee "sunny spells and scattered heavy showers or longer spells of rain. Highest temperatures of 14 to 17 degrees in a mostly light to moderate easterly wind, possibly strengthening in the west."