Cork weather: Orange and yellow warnings for Munster as Storm Debbie lifts in from the Atlantic

Cork is in a yellow advisory with orange warnings issued for Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary as Storm Debbie makes landfall tonight.

Met Eireann has today issued a raft of weather warnings as Storm Debi makes a surprise appearance over Ireland, having “rapidly developed” over the past 12 hours.

All counties are under a yellow warning for wind and rain, which will last from midnight tonight until 3pm on Monday.

Orange status warnings have been issued in the middle of the country, specifically for Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow, Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Galway. It will run from 2am on Monday morning until 12pm later the same day.

The national forecaster is warning of dangerous travel conditions, disruption to passenger services and local flooding and is asking all members of the public to exercise extreme caution for the indicated periods.

Weather expert Alan O’Reilly of Carlow Weather noted that Storm Debbie had gone undetected by many weather models over the past few days and had “developed rapidly” over the past 12 hours. He warned of “severe” weather that could witness rain of more than 30 mm and storms of more than 100 km.

Even after Monday, there is more unsettled weather later in the week. Heavy rain is expected to return on Thursday, with more rain possible over the weekend.

Things will also remain cold, with temperatures ranging between 10°C and 14°C, dipping into the low single digits on some evenings.

The full predictions for Munster are as follows:

Today – Sunday 12 November

The weather will start out wet or humid and breezy on Sunday, with rain extending to the northern regions. This will be followed by a mix of sunny spells and showers from the south-west, with rain mainly confined to Ulster by mid-afternoon. The winds will be moderate to active southeasterly, turning to southwesterly, and calming down with rain. Maximum temperatures range between 7 and 13 degrees, the coldest in the north and mildest in the south.

Tonight

The night will start with a mix of clear spells and scattered rain. Periods of thundery showers will follow later, becoming very heavy in places, especially over Connacht and Ulster with some flooding, hail and lightning possible. Variable cyclonic winds will also increase in strength with strong or even gusty westerly winds developing. Some severe and damaging storms are possible. Lowest temperatures range from 6 to 10 degrees.

Tomorrow – Monday 13 November

Monday will start out very windy or even windy with more thundershowers in places. Some severe or damaging storms are possible. Rain is expected to move north during the morning, followed by sunny periods and heavy rain. The strong westerly winds gradually calm down until the afternoon. The highest temperatures are from 9 to 13 degrees.

National forecasts

Forecast: Mixed and unstable with stormy rain on many days.

Monday Night: Clear spells and blustery heavy rain, mainly affecting the Atlantic provinces. Minimum temperatures range between 6 and 9 degrees, and moderate to active southwesterly winds.

Tuesday: Windy with sunny spells and widespread heavy rain with the best drier and sunnier spells in the southeast and east. Maximum temperatures range between 10 and 13 degrees, with brisk westerly winds. The winds calm down at night, with rain limited to the northwest. Lowest temperatures range from 3 to 7 degrees.

Wednesday: Current indications are that the weather will be mostly dry with sunny spells and calmer winds. Maximum temperatures range between 8 and 11 degrees with light southwesterly breezes.

Thursday: Sunny spells and scattered showers – mostly affecting the Atlantic provinces. Fairly breezy with moderate to refreshing westerly winds. Cool with highs 7 to 10 degrees.

More forecast: Unstable later this week.