Weather ALERT Met Éireann Status Yellow alert as wet windy weather to hit

Met Éireann has warned of flooding and windy weather which will feature a lot of heavy and persisted rain in the week ahead.

The forecaster has already issued a Status Yellow rain warning for Cork, Kerry, Waterford Monday into Tuesday with flooding and difficult travelling conditions on the cards.

The country is also going to have a very unsettled weak though it will be milder weather than recent weeks. Met Éireann says successive bands of low-pressure systems crossing the Atlantic will cause the wind and rain.

The forecaster's farming section says rainfall will above normal nationwide,  though it will be wilder with air temperatures forecast to be 3 or 4 degrees higher than normal. Sunshine will be below normal.

The national weather outlook through the week is for the weather to remain unsettled with frequent wet and breezy spells. MORE BELOW POST.

Met Éireann national weather forecast issued at 11.27am on Monday, February 17.

Monday: Cloudy with scattered patches of rain and drizzle. Rain will be heaviest and most persistent in the south and west with the possibility of spot flooding. Much of the eastern half of the country will hold dry until later in the evening. Highest temperatures of 5 to 11 degrees, coolest in Ulster and mildest in Munster. Breezy in a moderate to fresh and gusty southeast wind, strong at times near coasts.

Early on in the night the rain and drizzle will spread eastwards becoming widespread. Wet and breezy weather will persist for much of the night. Lowest temperatures of 4 to 9 degrees in a fresh southeast wind.

Tuesday: A wet start with further scattered outbreaks of rain and drizzle. Rain will clear northwards during the morning and afternoon. Drier conditions will follow with some hazy sunny spells developing later. Fresh southeast winds will persist through the day though. Highest temperatures of 7 to 11 degrees, mildest for the west and southwest.

Cloudy and mostly dry to start. However, rain in the southwest will extend northeastwards through the night. The rain will gradually clear from the west and southwest with some clear spells developing. Lowest temperatures of 4 to 9 degrees, coldest for Ulster. Moderate to fresh southeast winds will ease light to moderate southerly.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy with some sunny spells for a time in the morning. However, showery outbreaks of rain will develop in the southwest in the late morning, extending across the country through the rest of the day. Highest temperatures of 11 to 13 degrees in mostly moderate, occasionally fresh southerly winds.

Widespread showery rain, heavy in places, will clear northeastwards. Towards morning, another spell of rain will push into the west and southwest. Temperatures will not fall below 7 to 10 degrees. Southerly winds will be mostly moderate but will freshen towards morning.

Thursday: Cloudy and breezy in the morning with heavy or thundery outbreaks of rain extending eastwards bringing localised flooding. The rain will then clear eastwards for the afternoon with sunny spells and showers following. The showers will become more isolated in the evening as cloud builds from the southwest. Highest temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees in fresh to strong and gusty south to southwest winds, decreasing moderate to fresh for a time later.

Friday: Widespread rain at first with localised flooding possible. The rain will clear eastwards through the afternoon with sunny spells and scattered showers following. Highest afternoon temperatures of 9 to 13 degrees in mostly moderate to fresh southwest winds.