Storm Dennis is set to batter Ireland this weekend, arriving only days after Storm Ciara.
Storm Ciara, the third storm this year, brought a cold snap to Ireland with dangerous road conditions and left thousands of Irish households without power. Now with the country still reeling from her, we have to prepare ourselves for a ‘very wet and windy’ weekend with Storm Dennis. UK Met Office has A meteorologist from Met Éireann, Jonathan McGovern states it looks very likely the storm will wreak havoc across the country.
For now, Met Éireann has not issued a weather warning for the country but expect yellow & orange weather warnings, after the UK Met Office advised the storm may be a “danger to life”.
Cathal Nolan, an Irish Weather Channel forecaster, explained the storm will “bring a risk of damaging winds along the west coast, as well as heavy rain and monstrous sea swells that are likely to cause some significant damage in coastal communities.” Nolan continues to state, “at its peak around 400 km to the northwest of Ireland, Dennis will see its central pressure drop to between 913 – 915 hPa, which would tie as being the deepest pressure reading ever recorded in the North Atlantic Ocean, not from a Hurricane. Such pressure reading is truly phenomenal.”
The current forecast from Met Éireann for Leinster this weekend
Friday: Rain quickly spreads eastwards to all areas during Friday morning, with a clearance from the west to sunny spells and scattered showers during the late morning and early afternoon. Mostly dry for the afternoon with variable cloud and the odd shower in the west. A little milder than of late with highs of 9 to 11 degrees. Strong southerly winds veering southwesterly as the rain clears with gales on west and northwest coasts. Winds moderating later.
Starting mostly dry on Friday night but rain arrives from the west spreading to all areas by morning. Strong southerly winds with gales on coasts. Lows of 4 to 7 degrees. No frost.
Saturday: A very wet and very windy start to Saturday in association with Storm Dennis. Rain in all areas during the morning, heaviest in the west, clearing to blustery showers during the afternoon. Strong and gusty southerly winds veering southwesterly with gales on coasts. Another band of heavy rain crosses the country on Saturday night with southwesterly winds remaining strong to gale force. Lows of 2 to 5 degrees.
Sunday: A wet and windy start to Sunday, with rain giving way to blustery, heavy showers during the afternoon. Showers will turn wintry over high ground. Very windy again on Sunday, strongest in the west with southwesterly gales or strong gales on coasts.
Take care this weekend and watch out for the weather warnings!