Heavy rain may lead to some flooding and travel disruption
The Met Office has issued a new yellow weather warning for parts of Northern Ireland. The yellow rain alert comes into force at 12 noon on Thursday, February 5, and will remain in force until 23.59pm on Friday, February 6.
It covers all of counties Antrim, Armagh, Down Derry and Tyrone with the weather forecaster warning that heavy rain may lead to some flooding and travel disruption.
The Met Office added: “Areas of rain will continue to spread northwestwards across Northern Ireland during Thursday, Thursday night and much of Friday. Rain will be heavy at times and may lead to some flooding and travel disruption in places.
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“The majority of places are most likely to see 10-20 mm of rain and low level impacts, with some southeast facing hills seeing 40-50 mm through this period.
“Rain is expected to be particularly persistent over the east and southeast facing slopes of the Mourne Mountains and Antrim Hills, which may receive 60-80 mm; here low impacts are most likely overall with a small chance they could be medium.“At the same time, strong to gale forecast east to southeast winds may lead to some difficult travel conditions and large waves along Irish Sea coasts.”
What should I expect?
- Spray and flooding will lead to difficult driving conditions and possibly road closures
- Bus and train services probably affected with journey times taking longer
- Some interruption to power supplies and other services possible
- Flooding of a few homes and businesses is possible
- Strong winds, generating large waves and spray, may present dangerous conditions for exposed coastal communities.
What should I do?
- Check if your property could be at risk of flooding. If so, consider preparing a flood plan and an emergency flood kit.
- Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary.
- People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance. It’s easy to do; consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.
- Be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.
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