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A STATUS YELLOW rain warning is in place for some 17 counties this morning, with warnings that more flooding may follow due to the saturated ground.
Met Éireann has placed all of Leinster – and counties Cavan, Monaghan, Cork, Tipperary and Waterford – under a rain warning until 11pm tonight.
The high river levels will lead to flooding, poor visibility and difficult travelling conditions, the forecaster said.
Elsewhere, five other counties are under a Status Yellow wind warning, with a separate rain/snow warning in effect in Donegal.
The national forecaster has said the weather could lead to difficult travelling conditions in places, with fears it could bring transport and travel disruption for commuters this morning.
Updates by Jane Moore.
Good morning and welcome to our latest liveblog on the weather.
Jane Moore here – and I regret to inform you that it is, in fact, raining again.
With three weather warnings in place and Met Éireann warning of possible travel disruption, I’ll be bringing you any and all related updates throughout the morning.
The three Status Yellow warnings came into effect last night.
The rain warning for Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Cork, Tipperary and Waterford is due to remain in place until 11pm.
Met Éireann has warned that rain falling on already saturated ground combined with high river levels will lead to flooding, poor visibility and difficult travelling conditions.
The wind warning is in place for counties Wexford, Wicklow, Dublin, Meath and Louth and will remain in effect until 1pm.
Strong and gusty southeasterly winds combined with high tides may lead to wave overtopping, fallen trees and difficult travelling conditions, according to Met Éireann.
Meanwhile, a separate rain/snow warning for Donegal will be in place until 2pm.
The forecaster said heavy rain could turn to sleet or snow, which could lead to poor visibility and difficult travelling conditions.
A rain and snow warning is also in place for all of Northern Ireland until 8pm.
Yesterday, the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management convened a meeting of local authorities, Met Éireann, a number of government departments, state agencies and utility providers to prepare for the incoming heavy rain and associated flooding risk.
The group said in a statement that there is the possibility of some wintry precipitation, such as sleet, in the northwest and over high ground in Wicklow.
It added that heavy rainfall is expected throughout today, with the highest totals forecast for the south, east, northeast, and midlands – this additional rainfall may trigger further flooding, given current ground and river conditions.
“Whether or not a yellow rain warning is in place for a county, all areas will remain at risk of flooding,” the group said.
Met Éireann‘s Rebecca Cantwell says – unsurprisingly – that we’re in for a wet and breezy day, with the rain turning heavy at times and possibly falling as sleet and snow for a time.
The east will get the majority of the heavy rain, with scattered showers following to western areas.
Take a listen to the latest audio forecast.
📢 Hear the latest National Audio Forecast from Met Éireann for today and the coming days.
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) February 18, 2026
Listen now ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/DIBvC8q78G
There are reports of surface water on the M50 near Dún Laoghaire, with motorists advised to check updates on road conditions before travelling.
Met Éireann’s Rebecca Cantwell said the eastern half the country is going to see the highest accumulations of rainfall yet again.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland in the last few minutes, she said the rain is expected to clear western areas by the early afternoon, while the east is at risk of surface and river flooding.
The rainfall will be worst on higher ground in the east, such as the Wicklow Mountains, while the wind will also be strongest along the east coast.
“The rain will really pick up through the morning and afternoon, with the heaviest expected to fall then as the winds are picking up too, so just bear that in mind,” she said.
Some slight good news, though: Cantwell said Met Éireann does not anticipate that the Yellow warnings will need to be upgraded.
“Of course, we’re going to keep an eye on the situation, but totals are kind of topping up as expected,” she said. “Unless something changes dramatically, it’s not looking likely at the moment.”
So far, rainfall in the east of the country in February has been over 200% of the long-term average, she said.
“In contrast, in the west where we’d expect the worst rainfall, only 34% of the long term average has been seen in Belmullet,” she added.
Public transport appears to be operating relatively smoothly so far this morning.
Iarnród Éireann says DART services are operating with minor delays, while it seems only one rail service is experiencing disruption unrelated to the weather.
The 07.05 Drogheda/Bray is operating at a reduced capacity “due to vandalism”, the operator said.
It has rained every day of 2026 so far at one weather station.
Valentia Observatory in Co Kerry has seen 47 consecutive days of rain, according to Met Éireann.
The forecaster defines a “rain day” as a day on which rainfall of 0.1mm or more is recorded.
The last day where there was zero rainfall in Ireland was 50 days ago on 29 December.
Congestion Report:
— TII Traffic (@TIITraffic) February 18, 2026
M50 Southbound: J03 - J13.
Delays on routes around Dublin: M1 (S), N2 (S), M3/N3 (S), M4/N4 (E), N7 (E) & M11/N11 (N).
Drive with care!#TII #Slowdown pic.twitter.com/gbkp1JaV8e
As we approach 8am, there have been no reports of flooding around the country so far.
However, the rain is going to be falling all day, and with it set to become heavier and coincide with high tide, Met Éireann’s warning that some areas in the east could see flooding is still to be heeded.
Well, it appears that so far, the weather hasn’t quite had the impact we thought it would when we began this liveblog this morning…
We’re going to wrap things up for the moment – but we’ll be back later to bring you any and all updates should conditions get worse.
For now, here are the main points you need to know:
According to Hezbollah, the “direct” clashes between Israeli forces and the group are taking place in the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, located about six kilometres from the border.
This is the first claim of a direct confrontation between the two sides since the war started on Monday.
The pro-Iran group said in a statement: “After monitoring the movements of an Israeli enemy army force that tried to advance inside the town of Khiam, the fighters of the Islamic Resistance detonated an explosive device and engaged in direct clashes with the force”.
The IDF has shared a map of the Iranian military compound it claims to have struck in eastern Tehran, which it said housed command centres of the Revolutionary Guards, the elite Quds Force and the Basij paramilitary force.
🎯STRUCK: A large Iranian terror regime military compound in eastern Tehran.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 4, 2026
Struck command centers in the compound include:
* The IRGC headquarters
* The Intelligence Directorate headquarters
* The ‘Basij’ headquarters
* The 'Quds Force' headquarters
* The Internal Security… pic.twitter.com/XBvXqks29R
More than 17,500 American citizens have returned to the US from the Middle East since 28 February, according to US State Department official Dylan Johnson.
Over 8,500 US citizens returned yesterday alone, he said.
Since February 28, over 17,500 American citizens have returned to the United States from the Middle East — with over 8,500 American citizens returning to the U.S. yesterday alone.
— Dylan Johnson (@ASDylanJohnson) March 4, 2026
Many more Americans have left the Middle East to other countries in Europe and Asia, and others…
Iraq’s electricity ministry has said the entire country has been affected by a total power outage, without identifying the cause.
“The power grid has completely shut down across all Iraqi provinces,” the ministry said, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
It added that it was looking to determine the cause of the blackout, and had begun restoring power stations and transmission lines.
Parts of the country have come under repeated attack since the war between Israel, the US and Iran broke out on Saturday.
AFP journalists in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region, have reported hearing new explosions.
One journalist said loud bangs were mostly heard near Erbil airport, which hosts US-led coalition troops.
Drones have repeatedly been intercepted over the city, which is also home to a major US consulate complex, since the US-Israel-Iran war began.
Two drones have been shot down near Baghdad’s international airport, hours after a similar attack on the facility.
“Two drones were downed near Baghdad airport, with no casualties or material damage reported,” an Iraqi security source said. Another security source in Baghdad confirmed the incident.
The airport includes a military base that hosts a US diplomatic facility and previously housed US-led coalition troops.
The UK’s defence ministry has said a drone that struck its RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus on Monday was not fired from Iran.
It described the drone as “Shahed-like”, referring to the drones that are manufactured both in Iran and in Russia. The latter deploys them frequently in Ukraine.
The ministry said Royal Navy helicopters will arrive in Cyprus in the coming days to defend the base against further aerial threats.
Update on UK operations in the Middle East: 04 March 2026 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/LkE1D4Fuek
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 4, 2026
Iran’s military has threatened to target Israeli embassies worldwide if Israel were to attack Tehran’s mission in Lebanon.
You can read more here.
With an Emirates flight carrying Irish citizens from Dubai due to land in Dublin later tonight, an Emirates flight also took off from Dublin Airport bound for Dubai earlier today.
It’s the first departure from Ireland to the Middle East since Saturday.
Next stop Dubai… 🛫
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) March 4, 2026
A very welcome sight at Dublin Airport this afternoon as Emirates flight EK162 departed just after 1.30pm bound for Dubai - the first departure from Ireland to the Middle East since Saturday. pic.twitter.com/hgR1POKbTD
The IDF has said Israeli troops from three divisions, including infantry, armoured and engineering units are operating inside southern Lebanon.
“Troops from the 91st Division are operating in the east of southern Lebanon, troops from the 210th Division are operating in the Mount Dov area, and troops from the 146th Division are operating in the west of southern Lebanon,” the military said.
Video footage shared by the military showed soldiers carrying large backpacks and sleeping mats, as well as tanks manoeuvring in south Lebanon.
תיעוד ראשון מנקודות האחיזה של צה״ל במרחב דרום לבנון: פיקוד הצפון מעמיק את ההגנה בגזרה הצפונית
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 4, 2026
לכל הפרטים:https://t.co/fEgBRWxThb pic.twitter.com/Af8heD7qfP
UNIFIL reiterates its call to all actors to exercise maximum restraint and redouble efforts to prevent the current situation from spiraling out of control.
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) March 4, 2026
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has said it notes “with serious concern” the IDF’s statement telling civilian populations to evacuate north of the Litani River.
The Litani enters the Mediterranean sea is just south of the historic city of Tyre and is generally accepted as the entrance to South Lebanon.
There are more than 300 Irish soldiers based at various locations in the South on UNIFIL peacekeeping operations near the cities of At Tiri and Bint Jbeil.
In a statement, UNIFIL said it observed new rounds of rockets and missiles from Lebanese territory into Israel in violation of Security Council Resolution 1701.
“Within the area of operations, peacekeepers observed today several IDF movements and military activities, including near El Khiam, Beit Lif, Yaroun, Houla, Kfar Kila, Kherbeh and Kfar Shouba. All of these are happening while Israeli airstrikes and other air activities continue,” it said.
These not only violate Resolution 1701, but also Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
UNIFIL said its peacekeepers remain on the ground and on task in south Lebanon and along the Blue Line, which is an agreed demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel.
“Given the complexity of the situation, they have adapted their activities in support of Resolution 1701, including, where possible, facilitation of humanitarian support and protection of civilians. The mission’s civilian footprint will be adjusted accordingly.
“UNIFIL reiterates its call to all actors to exercise maximum restraint and redouble efforts to prevent the current situation from spiraling out of control.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has been taking questions from US reporters in the last few minutes.
She began by saying that under Donald Trump’s leadership, “the rogue Iranian terrorist regime is being absolutely crushed”.
“Iran’s murderous terorrist leaders are paying for their crimes against America, and they are paying in blood,” she said.
You can watch the briefing below:
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, Mar. 4, 2026 https://t.co/vN1LnnUiuD
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 4, 2026
Leavitt says the US has destroyed more than 20 Iranian ships, including the frigate that was sunk by a US submarine near Sri Lanka.
She said US forces have struck more than 2,000 targets, “destroying hundreds and hundreds of ballistic missiles, launchers and drones”.
She repeats a claim by the Department of War that the US expects to have “complete and total dominace” over Iranian airspace “in the coming hours”.
Leavitt said Donald Trump will attend a ceremony marking the return of US troops killed during the war on Iran.
“President Trump intends to attend the dignified transfer of these American heroes to stand in grief alongside their families,” she said, adding that no date had yet been announced.
Donald Trump is “actively considering” a US role in Iran after the American-Israeli operation against the country concludes, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said.
“I think it’s something the president is actively considering and discussing with his advisors and his national security team,” she said when asked about any post-war US role.
The Israeli military has said that its strikes on Iran’s missile launchers has led to a daily decline in the number of missiles the Islamic republic was firing at Israel.
“We’ve neutralised around 300 ballistic missile launchers. We believe our operations against those missile launchers and against those stockpiles are an integral part of the fact that we’re seeing the amounts of missiles fired every day diminish,” military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told journalists.
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