IF YOU WERE hoping for spring to usher itself in shortly, you may be disappointed.

Met Éireann’s extended forecast for the next few weeks showed some signs of promise after weeks of heavy rain and fierce winds across the country. 

At the end of January, Storm Chandra swept across the island, causing widespread flooding and leaving thousands without power. This storm was followed by further rain warnings. Earlier this month, a Status Orange rain warning was issued for a number of counties, and last weekend saw a cold snap with rain and snow warnings.

A new bout of weather warnings for Tuesday night was issued yesterday.

Met Éireann’s extended forecast said it looked as if there would be some atmospheric pressure building over the country from next week, likely leading to higher temperatures and less rainfall.

This is now looking less likely.

Operational forecaster at Met Éireann Liz Walsh told The Journal there are “tentative signs” that storm tracks that have landed over the east and southeast of the country may shift northwards, lessening the amount of rain over Dublin from next week onwards.

“This doesn’t mean we’re not going to see any rain, but it means the heavy type of rain that we’ve been seeing in Dublin might transfer back to the west and northwest,” Walsh said.

“I’m not seeing any big fine spell happening any time soon. Next week is still looking unsettled,” she said. “There are low-pressure systems moving in from the Atlantic, and they’ll bring frontal rain at times.”

These systems will likely have a greater impact on western and north-western areas than the east and southeast, where much of the heavy rain and flooding has been centred in recent weeks.

As the rain travels across the east, it may grow lighter or patchier.

“There are tentative signs [of the easing of rain in the east] but it still doesn’t mean we’re going to see dry weather all the time. There might be a bit more in the way of sunshine, and there are some indications of high pressure coming in the south.”

More rain has fallen at Dublin Airport in the first two weeks of February than during the entire month last year, and January was the wettest month in Dublin since 1948. The prolonged rainfall resulted in the flooding of two apartment buildings in Clongriffin in north Dublin on Friday. 

A number of cars parked at the complex were submerged in water while over 100 apartments lost power and had their water supply disrupted.

There remains a lot of uncertainty with the extended forecast, as always when looking at ten days or more ahead, but the rain is almost definitely sticking around for the foreseeable.

Tuesday night will see two weather warnings come into effect. A rain warning will kick in at 11pm for Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow, remaining in place until 11pm on Wednesday.

Separately, a wind warning has been issued for Wexford, Wicklow, Dublin, Meath and Louth, beginning at 11pm and due to expire at 1pm on Wednesday. 

Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo have been issued with a separate rain and snow warning, coming into effect at 2am on Wednesday and expiring at 2pm the same day.

Met Éireann has warned that flooding is likely, particularly in the southeast where river levels remain high, and the ground is saturated.

Several weeks of drier weather are required for river levels to settle in areas like Louth, where rivers are slower to respond to a change in the weather, Walsh said.

A prolonged dry spell is needed for the settling of rivers and drying out of saturated ground, but Walsh said this doesn’t look like it’s going to happen anytime soon.

“Maybe later next week, we might even get a dry weekend,” she said, but caveated that this is not overly likely.