"Significant river flooding" expected in West Waterford this evening

Significant river flooding is anticipated in West Waterford come high tide this evening.

The entirety of County Waterford is subject to a Status Orange Rain Warning from Met Éireann.

Cathal Nolan from Ireland’s Weather Channel says the latest models show up to 110mm of rain could fall in parts of West Waterford. The average monthly rainfall for September normally stands at 85mm.

Nolan says some parts of Waterford should realistically be under a red warning today.

"This morning's high resolution weather models continue to indicate of a locally severe weather event for the greater West Waterford area due to the combination of intense rainfall totals and strong onshore winds coinciding with high tides this evening also."

"Heavy rainfall has already commenced in the aforementioned area with that rain expected to intensify and persist right the way through the course of the day, leading to rainfall totals in the area of 60-70mm widely, and up to 110-130mm in some cases over the Comeragh Mountains."

This intense rainfall is likely to lead to a swelling of river levels along the River Colligan, River Dalligan, River Mahon, River Tay and The Nire River. This will be further exacerbated by strong onshore east to southeasterly winds of between 80-90km/h, especially during the high tide around 5pm.

"At this point, the combination of high quantities of rainfall sweeping down off the Comeragh Mountains, combined with strong onshore winds driving the sea inwards up the river estuaries and the high tide around 5pm could well lead to significant flooding in areas such as Dungarvan, Stradbally and Bunmahon. While the majority of Waterford is rightly under a status orange weather warning, the West Waterford area needs to be under a status red weather warning due to the potential for significant river flooding along the aforementioned rivers and their communities."

High tides in Waterford come into effect at the following times today:

Dungarvan, Youghal & Ardmore: 4.35pm.

Tramore: 4.40pm.

Cheekpoint: 5.05pm.

Waterford: 5.20pm.

Surface water levels will be elevated in Waterford on Sunday due to high accumulations of rainfall over a 6 to 12-hour period. Impacts are likely to include localised flooding from urban and fast responding smaller watercourses/catchments, drains, channels and flooding from overland flow.

Waterford City and County Council’s severe weather management team met on Saturday morning and they are currently monitoring the situation. Ground crews are on stand-by to deal with any issues that may arise, such as localised flooding, blocked drains, gulley overflows, etc.

Waterford City and County Council advises the public to exercise caution, heed public safety advice and avoid unnecessary journeys as driving conditions may be hazardous, with surface water flooding expected.

Motorists are advised to avoid driving through flowing or standing water and are reminded to be conscious of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

Members of the public can contact Waterford City and County Council’s Customer Services Desk on 0818 10 20 20 and calls will be transferred to the Council’s emergency services number.

Please note the following emergency contact numbers below:

Emergency 999/112
Uisce Éireann 1800 278 278
ESB Networks 1800 372 999
Gas Networks Ireland 1800 205 050

For the latest Waterford News and Sport, tune into WLR News on the hour and download the WLR App for news on demand.