Storm Boelo to Worsen Soil Saturation and Flood Risk in Ireland Until Monday
Ireland's national weather service Met Éireann warns that Storm Boelo may worsen conditions left by Storm Austen, including saturated soils, high rivers and flooding, until Monday. Orange and yellow wind warnings remain in force for western counties.
Met Éireann, Ireland's national meteorological service, is forecasting unsettled weather across the country as Storm Boelo, the second named storm of the 2026/2027 season, arrives. The service says the storm may aggravate conditions left by the earlier Storm Austen, including saturated soils, high river levels, surface flooding and weakened trees, until Monday. This matters for farmers, as waterlogged ground makes fieldwork harder.
Warnings
Several earlier warnings remain in place. A status orange wind warning covers counties Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo, with gale-force westerly winds and severe, damaging gusts from early Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning. Yellow wind warnings apply to Connacht, Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Donegal from early Saturday afternoon until early Sunday afternoon.
Forecast
On Saturday, rain, heavy at times, will move southeast through the afternoon, followed by blustery showers. Southwest winds will turn westerly and become very strong this evening, strongest in Connacht and Ulster. Daytime highs will reach 12° to 15°, with overnight lows of 5° to 8°. Isolated thunderstorms and localised flooding are possible.
Sunday morning will be windy with sunshine and showers. Winds will ease through the afternoon and evening, and showers will die out in most areas, though some wind will remain in north Ulster. Highs will be 10° to 12°. Sunday night will begin mainly dry before rain spreads from the southwest, with lows of 3° to 8°.
Bank Holiday Monday will be wet, with spells of rain that is heavy at times and highs of 15 or 16 degrees. On Monday night rain will clear eastwards.
Outlook for the week
Met Éireann estimates rainfall over the coming week will be well above average nationwide, up to two or three times the norm for this time of year. Mean air temperatures of 9° to 13° are expected. Moderately drained soils will become waterlogged over the weekend, with a slight improvement towards the end of the coming week.
