Louth County Council has issued an update ahead of the expected impact of Storm Chandra, following a technical briefing from Met Éireann.
Members of the council’s Severe Weather Assessment Team attended the briefing on Tuesday to prepare for the storm and its potential effects across the county.
A Status Yellow Rainfall Warning for County Louth is in place from midnight to 11pm on Tuesday 27 January. A Status Yellow Wind Warning is also in effect from 5am to 11pm on the same day.
A High River Flood Advisory has also been issued for County Louth. Rivers are expected to exceed known flood levels, with a high risk of out-of-bank flooding. Coastal areas may exceed Highest Astronomical Tides due to storm conditions. The period of highest flood risk is from midnight on Tuesday 27 January to 9am on Thursday 29 January, due to saturated ground and prolonged heavy rainfall.
Representatives from Met Éireann and the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management briefed council staff on the expected local impacts.
- Significant rainfall on higher ground in the north of County Louth.
- The Cooley Peninsula is expected to experience very high rainfall, leading to swollen rivers and streams, which may burst their banks and cause significant runoff from mountain areas.
- Coastal areas may experience overtopping at high tides: 4:45pm on Monday, 26 January and 5:30am (highest risk) and 5:55 pm on Tuesday, 27 January.
- Rivers across the county may break their banks and spill onto floodplains.
- Wellington Quay, Drogheda, is likely to experience flooding during the period of high tides.
- Travelling conditions will be difficult for the next 36 hours due to heavy rain and strong winds.
Louth County Council’s operations team is actively preparing for the storm, including clearing gullies and distributing sandbags.
Sandbags are available at several locations across the county, including Bush, Town Hall Yard in Dundalk, the Dundalk Machinery Yard behind the Garda Barracks, Ship Street in Drogheda, Wellington Quay in Drogheda, Woodlands Depot, Ardee Civic Office Yard, Stockwell Lane in Drogheda, North Quays in Drogheda, Greenhills in Drogheda, and Baltray in Drogheda.
Members of the public are advised to closely monitor Met Éireann forecasts over the coming 24 hours, as conditions may change rapidly. The latest updates are available on the Met Éireann website, through the Met Éireann app, on social media at @meteireann, and via other news outlets.
