Fresh orange and yellow weather warnings have been issued by Met Éireann as Storm Boelo is due to cross parts of the country over the bank holiday weekend.
The forecaster has warned of an increased flooding risk this weekend as the ground is already saturated from Storm Austen. It said “very heavy and intense rain” was expected in the south of the country.
A status-orange rain warning will come into effect for Kerry from 7am on Saturday until 2pm.
An orange wind warning for Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo will be in place from 2pm on Saturday until 9am on Sunday.
A yellow rain warning has been issued for Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Leitrim, Limerick, Mayo and Sligo for between 4am and 3pm on Saturday. A yellow wind warning is in place for Connacht, Clare, Kerry and Limerick from 1pm on Saturday until noon on Sunday.
A yellow wind warning is also in place for Donegal from 1pm on Saturday until 3pm on Sunday.
The Galway Races rescheduled Saturday’s “National Hunt” races due to Storm Boleo, while events have been cancelled in Kerry.
Met Éireann said that further rainfall on Saturday will lead to “rapid runoff, rising river levels, and an increased risk of both surface water and river flooding”, particularly across the West and Southwest.
“Smaller rivers across the country have the biggest risk of flooding quickly as they will take the shortest time to overflow, whereas largest rivers may take longer to rise,” it added.
The “strong onshore winds” likely to come with the storm, alongside high tides, may result in wave overtopping, and thus coastal flooding along the west coast.
Cleanup operations continued on Saturday afternoon following the arrival of Storm Austen, with council crews clearing falling trees in many counties. Met Éireann’s figures would suggest that Dublin got the heaviest of the rain with more than 20mm falling overnight at Dublin Airport, but the rain has now tailed off considerably.
The ESB reported 3,000 properties are without power after Storm Austen, while Bus Éireann has cancelled a number of services
The UK Met Office has issued a yellow warning for Northern Ireland from 6pm on Saturday until 3pm on Sunday. The forecaster warned of 80km/h to 90km/h gusts, with winds up to 120km/h in exposed areas.
Saturday morning is expected to be wet and windy with widespread rain and fresh to strong and gusty southerly winds, reaching near gale force or gale force near coasts.
The rain is likely to be heavy at times, especially in the west and southwest with spot flooding possible, said Met Éireann.
A clearance to blustery showers will follow through the afternoon, with isolated thunderstorms possible in the northwest, as winds veer southwest to west. Highest temperatures are likely to be between 12 and 15 degrees.
Sunday morning will be breezy with fresh to strong and gusty westerly winds. There will be sunny spells and scattered showers in the morning, with longer spells of rain possible in the northwest.
Showers will gradually become isolated from the south through the day but with more cloud developing. Highest temperatures will be between 9 to 12 degrees.
Rain will extend northeastward through Monday morning with moderate to fresh southeasterly winds. Some drier intervals are expected to develop during the afternoon and evening but winds will veer south to southwest, increasing fresh to strong and gusty during the evening. Temperatures will probably be mild and humid, with highs of 14-17 degrees.
The storm set to the west coast on Saturday is taken from a three-country list of names.
Boelo is a Dutch name, whereas Austen was a contribution from the Met Éireann.
Since 2015, the Irish forecaster has been working with the UK Met Office on a naming convention to keep public messaging “consistent” and “authoritative”.
They were joined by the Netherlands’ KNMI in 2019, and publish a list of storm names during “storm season”, which starts on September 1st and lasts for a year.
Four of Met Éireann’s names were historical contributions from the service; Austen, Evelyn, Kilian, Miriam, with three more from public suggestions; Heather, Laoise and Phelim.
The full 2026/27 list is Austen, Boelo, Chloe, Dano, Evelyn, Finn, Gwendolyn, Heather, Ivy, Jake, Kilian, Laoise, Miriam, Nicola, Olaf, Phelim, Ruban, Shaun, Theo, Vesna, and Wende.