Yellow weather warning issued for Derry before cold spell arrives later this week
An official weather warning has been issued for Derry and some other parts of the north for Tuesday.
The rain warning comes into effect at 6am on Tuesday morning and lasts through to Tuesday night with the Met Office warning of showers potentially leading to flooding and travel disruption in some areas.
The Met Office has forecast: “A spell of persistent rain is expected to arrive across Northern Ireland early on Tuesday morning, with some heavy bursts developing at times especially during Tuesday afternoon and evening, before the rain clears late on. “Widely 20-30 mm is probable over the course of around 18 hours, with some high ground perhaps receiving 40mm or more, eg Mourne Mountains. However, within the broad area of rain there are likely to be periods with heavier bursts containing 10-20 mm over a 1-3 hour period which could cause a few issues such as temporary surface water flooding and difficult travelling conditions.
"In addition stronger winds are likely to develop along some eastern coasts, adding to the potential for disruption in a few places.”
In the west the area covered by the alert is from Derry and Tyrone up to Coleraine, with large parts of Donegal are also expected to be affected.
Met Éireann has issued a yellow rain warning for Cork, Kerry, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Tipperary and Waterford but nothing further north as of Monday afternoon.
A small craft warning alert for all Irish coastal areas has also been issued, with winds set to reach force 6 or higher on Tuesday. The warning is valid from 12am Tuesday to 11pm on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile temperatures look set to drop off into single digits this weekend and possibly down as low as 3°C by night, with the first frosts of the season likely for some parts.
But at this stage it looks like it might be a good deal drier at the weekend too.