Strong winds and heavy rain are set to play havoc on the country over the coming days but at this stage forecasters are keen to stress that this is not another Storm Ophelia situation.
Heavy rain is set to affect parts of the county tomorrow, with spot flooding in places.
This is set to be followed by a depression that will bring strong winds and further heavy rain to many parts on Friday and Saturday.
Met Eireann has issued a Status Yellow alert for rainfall, which will affect 14 counties including Wicklow.
NATIONAL WARNING
STATUS YELLOW FOR RAINFALL
Please check link below for more detailshttps://t.co/9BeK3UcAwO— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) October 18, 2017
Speaking today, Wicklow Weather said that at this stage their confidence level is 60% as of midday but this too is subject to change.
Deepening Low Pressure
“We have now moved from our watch advisory to alert advisory meaning we would urge the public to #BeAware ,
“Overnight model runs now shows increasing consensus that an area of deepening low pressure will track across Ireland from mid afternoon on Friday and through Friday night into the early hours of Saturday.
“Timing is obviously subject to change. Latest data tracks the system from County Clare across the country to Dublin so expect strongest winds anywhere south of these areas.
“Peak gusts on Friday night could reach 70kmh to 120kmh, strongest gusts along exposed coasts of Sth Leinster and Munster.
“Heavy rains tomorrow (Thursday) coupled with heavy rains on Friday will cause spot flooding on road networks from tomorrow through to Saturday. “
It is possible that parts could see further power outages and there is a danger of further tree’s failing due to the fact that they may have been weakened as a result of Orphelia.
“The reason we have issued an upgrade from watch to alert is precisely that the public should be alert and be aware in other words keep an eye on Met Eireann website and TV forecasts,”
“The other reason we issued alert was due to the weakened state of power lines and weakened trees. We also have an alert for spot flooding tomorrow (Thursday) across Wicklow.”
