Chaotic weather continues as thunderstorm warning issued for entire country

Large areas of the country have been hit with heavy rain and thunderstorms

Large areas of the country have been hit with heavy rain and thunderstorms today. Picture: Damien Storan.

Met Éireann has issued a thunderstorm warning for the entire country this evening.

The status yellow warning came into immediate effect and will remain in place until 1am on Thursday.

The forecaster has warned of heavy rainfall with a chance of localised flooding along with thunderstorms and lightning.

A separate status orange warning is currently in place for counties Dublin, Wexford, Wicklow and Waterford. These areas experienced heavy rain, frequent lightning and disruption until the warning lifted at 11pm.

The latest warning follows a day which has seen thunderstorms causing havoc in many parts of the country.

In Wicklow this afternoon, black smoke was seen billowing from a wind turbine leading to speculation it may have been hit by lightning strikes during the storm.

Just after midday today, a vessel passing the Arklow Bank reported seeing a wind turbine on fire, according to the Department of Transport.

Dublin Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre immediately contacted the owner of the turbine, GE Renewable Energy.

The company said that once conditions improve it will be able to assess the structure and determine what happened.

There were no personnel in the vicinity of the turbine so no risk to life.

GE Renewables said the Coast Guard had been notified and issued a Radio Navigation Warning to alert vessels in the area.

Wicklow Chief Fire Officer Aidan Dempsey has said that the fire service understands that the turbine is being allowed to "burn itself out" due to the dangers responding to it would cause when no lives are "currently at risk."

"It is understood the turbine was struck by lightning. These turbines were planned for decommissioning next year," Mr Dempsey further said.

Met Éireann is still warning of "heavy and persistent" rainfall and a risk of localised flooding.

The weather is likely to cause further disruption as the evening progresses and road users are advised to be cautious and not to take any risks.

The roof of the Dáil chamber is leaking… 🌂 @McConnellDaniel @aoifegracemoore @LouiseByrneNews @sandra_hurley @JOEdotie @MichealLehane pic.twitter.com/Am2eAuQrhV

Elsewhere, the intense storm has impacted the newly refurbished Leinster House.

Water has been seen leaking into the Dáil Chamber and the Seanad.

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare, Cathal Crowe, was making a speech when he noticed the problem.

"The roof in the Dáil Chamber sprung a leak and down came drops of water. It kept dropping and I mentioned it during my speech because it was very obvious as I was speaking that there was water coming from above me," he said.

Ushers have been coming in and out of the Chamber and keeping an eye on the situation.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Storm Armand is set to bring tropical style rain and humid conditions to the country.

Evelyn Cusack, Chief Meteorologist at Met Éireann, said the storm - which is named by the Portuguese meteorological office - will bring more thundery downpours.

"Storm Armand won't give us stormy wind but it is going to give us very warm, humid, tropical air over the weekend and further bands of heavy, thundery rain."

Cork escapes worst of rain

Following significant flooding incidents over the weekend which saw 55mm of rainfall on Cork in just a few hours, Cork residents and business owners had been bracing for further pronounced downpours from yesterday evening on, but these have thankfully not materialised.

High Spring tides, which have compounded flooding in Cork city in recent times, also passed without incident this morning.

Council crews checked gullies and screens across the city last night to ensure they were clear.

A spokesman said gullies are designed to retain a certain amount of debris in their gully pots and still function normally.

"Only gullies that are full to the top of the metal grating with detritus, require cleaning," he said.

"To help us respond to urgent issues, please do not report blocked gullies if there is water/silt visible in the pot, it is functioning as normal."

Heavy rainfall will likely lead to surface water and hazardous driving conditions so motorists have been asked to drive with care.

Sand and gel bags are still available for collection from the civic amenity site on the South Link Road.

And the council's Customer Service Unit (CSU) has extended its opening hours today from 8am-9pm to allow members of the public contact the council with any weather-related issues.

Further delay to Glanmire flood scheme

Meanwhile, Cork suburb hit by faces another winter of fear after another delay in its €14m flood defence project.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) has confirmed that the Glashaboy river flood relief scheme in Glanmire, which was tendered for just over a year ago, must be retendered, pushing its construction start date back to late 2023.

Glanmire flooded during Sunday's yellow rainfall warning which saw 55m of rain fall on the city in just five hours, overwhelming the drainage system.

An orange rainfall warning is now in place across Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow, prompting advice from the authorities in Cork last night to those in flood-risk areas to deploy sandbags.

The Irish Examiner first reported in June that the Glashaboy scheme was in doubt over soaring inflation and construction costs.

But the OPW has now confirmed that new tenders for the scheme will be issued before the end of the year.

"The tender documentation for the procurement and appointment of a contractor was issued in September 2021 with a return date of January 24, 2022," it said.

"Unfortunately, Cork City Council was not in a position to appoint a contractor for the works on foot of this procurement process.

"However, the council is proceeding towards issuing updated tender documents in Q4 2022 for works to commence in Spring 2023 and is working with key project partners to minimise the overall delay in the completion of these works." The scheme has been in the pipeline since the Glashaboy burst its banks following heavy rainfall in June 2012, swamping 78 houses and 25 businesses, causing tens of millions of euro worth of damage.

The flood defence scheme has been delayed several times since, due to EU legislative changes and other technical issues.

There was hope when it was confirmed in January 2021 by the Minister for Public Expenditure, and tender documents were issued later that year.

But as reported by the Irish Examiner in June, the preferred contractor raised serious concerns about soaring costs which it's believed could have added €3.5m to the cost of the scheme.

The OPW was asked if it has allocated extra funding to the scheme but would only say it is committed to funding it.