Clare County Council is urging home and business owners throughout the county, particularly those in low lying coastal areas, to take precautionary steps in view of Met Eireann’s weather advisory for this weekend.

Coastal locations in the west and east of Ireland are expected to be affected by heavy rainfall, tidal surges and severe gales on Sunday night and Monday.

Clare County Council, in conjunction with the Emergency Services, says it is progressing contingency arrangements in terms of additional pumping capacity and other flood alleviation measures.

The Council confirmed that river levels have increased significantly over the past week, and arrangements are in place to continuously monitor the situation over the weekend.

While river levels currently are not a cause for concern, land, home and business owners along with motorists are being urged to exercise increased vigilance concerning the potential for localised flooding.

Flooding advice is available on www.flooding.ie. Information included on the website includes advice on identifying flooding risks, protecting property against flooding, necessary steps to be taken if a property is flooded, and assessing and repairing property damaged by flooding.

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TODAY ... Some outbreaks of heavy rain across the south this morning should end shortly, but more is on the way. For Ireland generally, cloudy with periods of rain spreading in from the west this morning, with some bursts of heavier rain by mid-day. Winds increasing slightly to westerly 25-40 mph, highs near 13 or 14 C.

TONIGHT ... Variable cloud, a brief interval of clearing followed by more showers and colder temperatures with lows of 6-8 C, winds becoming northwest 15-30 mph.

SATURDAY ... Mostly cloudy, some brief sunny breaks, but showers that may turn into periods of rain, winds northerly 15-25 mph, chilly, highs 8-10 C.

SUNDAY ... Early morning clear spells may lead to local frost with fog patches, then some limited morning sunshine. Winds will be gradually increasing from the south to southwest all day. By evening, strong winds and periods of rain will be sweeping in with gusts to 45 mph. Morning lows will be about 1-4 C and late afternoon highs 8-10 C (possibly 12 C west coast).

SUNDAY NIGHT ... The strong winds and heavy rain will fade out as the centre of the rather sprawling storm moves over Ireland, and winds may go calm by morning with fog and drizzle. Lows will be about 7 C.

MONDAY ... The calm interval will rapidly come to an end from north to south in the morning as strong east to northeast winds set in behind the low (which will now be moving towards France). By late in the day, quite windy again with NE winds 30-50 mph, periods of rain, and high elevation sleet or snow possible. The rain is likely to be heavier in Ulster and Leinster with 30 mms likely there. Highs will be only 7-9 C and even colder at high elevations.

TUESDAY ... Continuing rather raw and wet as northeast winds slowly subside to 20-30 mph, and rain becomes intermittent. Lows near 4 C and highs near 8 C.

WEDNESDAY may see a brief improvement under a weak ridge of high pressure but by THURSDAY another storm will be moving in from the northwest, this time not dropping further south than Ireland, so that winds will remain westerly when it hits late in the week, with near normal temperatures but strong winds and heavy showers.

The model runs have not all finished yet and there may yet be some changes to the late Sunday to Tuesday storm forecast. One feature not directly weather related would be higher water levels on the south coast as the new moon occurs Saturday so that these strong southerly winds could force water into estuaries from the ocean.

Meanwhile, it was mild and almost calm here in Vancouver today (Thursday 4th) with morning sun and afternoon cloud, highs near 14 C. Rain has spread up the east coast of the U.S. (actually this is the first phase of the developing Monday storm which will start out near Greenland on Saturday). Tomas is slowly increasing in strength and heading for the gap between Cuba and Haiti but most of the rain will hit Haiti as the weak cat-1 hurricane moves past.

Irish Business Today Daily Long Range Weather Forecast provided by Peter O'Donnell

CO CLARE, FRIDAY, 05 NOV 2010

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TODAY ... gradual clearing to partly cloudy skies in the west, while the rain should ease off by mid-morning (about 1030h) in eastern Ireland, except in the southeast where it will continue to about mid-day. Brighter intervals will follow from the west but there could still be one or two brief showers, and the SW winds will veer more westerly at 20-30 mph. It will stay very mild with highs of 15-16 C.

TONIGHT ... periods of rain redeveloping, winds SSW 15-30 mph, very mild with fog developing, lows 10-12 C. This rainfall will average 15-20 mms.

FRIDAY ... rain becoming squally at times with winds picking up from SW veering to W at 20-40 mph, some higher gusts in Donegal and Mayo, still very mild but temperatures dropping slightly in the north by late afternoon. Highs of about 14-15 C. A further 10-15 mms of rain.

SATURDAY ... breezy or locally windy and cooler with showers merging to periods of light rain, 5-8 mms on average, winds WNW 20-35 mph, lows near
5 C and highs near 9-10 C. Just a few brief sunny breaks more likely near south and east coasts.

SUNDAY ... becoming windy with rain developing and becoming heavy at times late in the day, winds backing from strong SW to SE then ENE as the storm drops south across or just west of Ireland. There are indications this could produce winds of 30-50 mph by Sunday night, with a driving rain that could become sleety or snowy on high ground, as temperatures fall to about 5-6 C near sea level and 0-3 C higher up. This storm will persist into Monday especially in the south and east, with 20-40 mms of rain possible.

Models are still having some trouble giving us a definite track and evolution for this storm, and it could move by fairly quickly leading to some clearing by early Tuesday (in which case it would become frosty), or it may stall closer to Ireland in northwest France, and allow the rain and strong E-NE winds to continue for another day. In any case, improvements should follow by mid-week and there could be a return to milder weather but with another episode of strong winds and showers. The situation looks a bit suspect and I feel that the models may continue to have trouble with this system until almost the day before it arrives.

Meanwhile, we've enjoyed a very pleasant sunny day here in Vancouver on Wed 3rd, with a high near 15 C. The southeast U.S. is seeing rain from a developing east coast low, and Tomas is slowly recovering its strength and looking like a Friday morning strike on Haiti, hopefully not overly severe but as flooding and mudslides are the big risk, this would not need to be that intense a storm for problems to develop. Jamaica will get more of a glancing blow later today.

Irish Business Today Daily Long Range Weather Forecast provided by Peter O'Donnell

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TODAY ... continuing rather mild and breezy, with periods of rain spreading in from the west, but some improvements mid-day and afternoon especially in the south, with brighter skies and less windy at times for a while; however, the northern counties will get a renewed blast of wind and squally showers by afternoon or evening, lasting through the night, and eventually this will spread further south. Winds for the morning hours SW 15-25 mph increasing to 20-35 mph south, but to 35-55 mph north. Rainfalls may be slight in the south today but could amount to 10-15 mms north by evening. Highs will be in the range of 12 C north to 15 C south.

TONIGHT ... cloudy, showers or periods of rain, 15-30 mms possible, windy at times, very mild, lows only 10-11 C. Northern counties will see westerly winds at 30-50 mph while further south, a more moderate WSW 20-35 mph.

THURSDAY ... variable skies, squally showers clearing for a while then redeveloping, and gusty winds returning, highs near 13 or 14 C, winds WSW 20-40 mph.

FRIDAY ... periods of rain, becoming very windy late in the day, possible thunderstorms. Lows near 9 C and highs near 14 C. Winds increasing from SSW 15-25 mph to WSW 30-50 mph. Friday night and Saturday morning will be quite stormy with gusty winds (W 40-60 mph in northern counties).

SATURDAY ... windy and turning colder with squally showers at times, winds veering to WNW 25-45 mph, highs near 10 C.

SUNDAY ... variable cloud, risk of showers, colder with highs near 8 C.

Models are now showing a variety of solutions for the period Sunday to Tuesday with suggestions of a stormy period that comes as early as Sunday on some models and as late as Tuesday on others, so for the time being, taking the consensus to say that Monday and Tuesday may be quite chilly, with mixed wintry precipitation over some inland counties, chilly rain near the coasts, and winds veering around further to northerly or perhaps north-easterly for a while as the low passes through the Irish Sea, then southern U.K. towards France. All of this is somewhat uncertain given the rapid changes in model evolution so stay tuned as the solutions become clearer late in the week.

Tuesday (2nd) here (Vancouver) was a pleasant sunny day and quite mild with a high near 14 C. Nothing too active across North America except for some rain near New Orleans that represents the first stages of a developing east coast storm for later this week. Tomas is moving too slowly to get mixed up in that, and will be just approaching Haiti by Friday, hopefully not too strong but that possibility is being closely watched as the current 40-mph tropical storm may revert back to hurricane status by Thursday afternoon.

Irish Business Today Daily Long Range Weather Forecast provided by Peter O'Donnell

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Stormy weather at Portbradden, North Antrim, Northern Ireland- OCT 19 2010

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TODAY ... breezy to windy for most, periods of rain becoming heavy at times by afternoon especially in Connacht, Clare into parts of Ulster and inland Leinster ... winds SW 25-45 mph most of the day but higher gusts especially Connacht by late afternoon (55-65 mph possible), rainfalls 10-15 mms although perhaps not this much in southeast, and highs generally 13-15 C.

TONIGHT ... another mild night with strong westerly winds and drizzle or showery light rain at times, winds WSW 25-45 mph, lows near 8 C north and 10 C south.

WEDNESDAY ... continued breezy or windy, and very mild, with further light showery rain but possibly some brighter intervals developing, winds more WSW at 20-40 mph, highs 13-15 C. Staying mild overnight to Thursday morning near 7-9 C.

THURSDAY ... variable cloud, another interval of heavier rain developing late in the day, steady SW winds at about 20-35 mph, highs near 14 C. Some places may get 20-30 mms of rain late Thursday overnight into Friday as it stays very mild near 11 C.

FRIDAY ... windy and mild with early morning heavy rain, followed by showers but possibly some partial clearing, highs near 14 C. (winds SW to W at about 30-50 mph)

SATURDAY ... breezy and turning cooler, with showers ... highs near 12 C ... winds becoming WNW 25-45 mph.

SUNDAY ... variable cloud, a few showers mainly near west coast, winds becoming more NW to N at 20-40 mph, highs near 9 C.

Models are starting to converge on a more vigorous northwesterly flow next week as a cold vortex develops near Iceland and drops southeast across the U.K., bringing a strong northwest flow of "polar maritime" air to Ireland. This would likely produce some hill snow or sleet and chilly temperatures of only 5-8 C near sea level, favouring hail showers at times. This colder spell might last a few days before moderating back to a milder Atlantic westerly flow.

Meanwhile, today here in Vancouver was a cloudy day with occasional light rain, and highs of about 11 C. Tomas continues to move steadily west in the Caribbean and is well south of Puerto Rico but models continue to show potential for a northward turn towards eastern Jamaica or Haiti and Dominincan Republic around Thursday. Fears of a major hurricane strike have abated but the current weak tropical storm could return to cat-1 hurricane intensity by then.

The Clare Herald Daily Long Range Weather Forecast provided by Peter O'Donnell

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RAINFALL RADAR

Stormy weather at Portbradden, North Antrim, Northern Ireland- OCT 19 2010

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TODAY ... becoming milder with moderate SSW winds developing, 15-30 mph for most places, with 25-45 mph by afternoon in Connacht. Periods of light rain this morning across the west and north, followed by a few heavier bursts of rain mostly in Connacht and Ulster this afternoon and evening. Highs near 13 C north to 15 C south. Rainfalls generally 5-10 mms but some places may remain dry or only 1-3 mms southeast.

TONIGHT ... cloudy, very mild with occasional drizzle, fog and mist, winds remaining steady about SW 20-30 mph. Lows 9-11 C.

TUESDAY ... breezy to windy for most, periods of rain becoming heavy at times by afternoon especially in Connacht, Clare into parts of Ulster and inland Leinster ... winds SW 25-45 mph with higher gusts by late afternoon, rainfalls 10-15 mms possible (again, not this much in southeast) and highs generally 14-16 C. Another mild night to follow, lows 8-10 C.

WEDNESDAY ... continued breezy or windy, and very mild, with further light showery rain but possibly some brighter intervals developing, winds more WSW at 20-40 mph, highs 13-15 C. Staying mild overnight to Thursday morning near 7-9 C.

THURSDAY ... variable cloud, another interval of heavier rain developing late in the day, steady SW winds at about 20-30 mph, highs near 14 C.

FRIDAY ... windy and mild with showers, highs near 14 C. (winds SW to W at about 30-50 mph)

SATURDAY ... breezy and turning cooler, with showers ... highs near 12 C ... winds becoming WNW 25-45 mph.

OUTLOOK ... the models have conflicts in how much colder it may become next week, with the GFS model quite windy and turning very chilly, while the European model is less aggressive. This may point to an intermediate solution that favours frosty nights under higher pressure dropping southeast.

Today in Vancouver (Sunday 31st) was a rather pleasant, sunny day until mid-afternoon when it rapidly clouded over with a strong SW wind, then rain followed this evening. The high earlier was 14 C. It remains somewhat bland across most of North America, and Tomas has lost quite a bit of intensity to fall back to tropical storm status. He may regain some strength mid-week and the threat to Jamaica or Haiti is not over yet.

The Clare Herald Daily Long Range Weather Forecast provided by Peter O'Donnell

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RAINFALL RADAR

Stormy weather at Portbradden, North Antrim, Northern Ireland- OCT 19 2010

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TODAY ... rain will make little further progress north, so for parts of Connacht, northeast Leinster and most of Ulster, the day should remain largely dry with some sunshine at times by afternoon. Further south the rain will continue but may become more showery after noon with partial clearing around sunset. Northeast to northerly winds at 15-30 mph, rather chilly especially where this wind is stronger near the Irish Sea, with highs about 10 to 12 C. Rainfalls will vary from 20 mms locally in the south to zero in the north.

TONIGHT ... partly cloudy with some longer clear intervals developing, shallow fog in valleys, chilly with lows 2-7 C, risk of a few areas of frost north central counties. Winds falling to near calm inland and W 15 mph near the west coast.

MONDAY ... dry to start and some sunshine possible especially southeast, becoming much milder as 20-30 mph SSW winds develop, highs 13-16 C. Rain will move in quickly by mid-day in Connacht and may spread as far as a line from Dublin to Waterford but the southeast could remain dry. This rain will be heavier in Donegal and parts of north Connacht into west Ulster, with 15 mms possible there, and only 2-5 mms further south.

TUESDAY ... breezy and very mild with further outbreaks of showery rain, lows only near 8-10 C and highs 13-16 C. Winds SW 20-40 mph.

WEDNESDAY ... windy and very mild with occasional rain, winds 30-50 mph, highs near 15 or 16 C.

THURSDAY-FRIDAY ... continued very breezy and mild with further showers and mild temperatures, winds somewhat more westerly, highs 12-14 C.

OUTLOOK ... turning colder in stages, with some very chilly weather possible by later in the second week of November.

Meanwhile, Saturday (30th) was a cloudy but dry day here with some light rain setting in by evening, and the high was about 13 C. The weather across most of North America is seasonable under high pressure of Pacific origins, nothing very far from normal to be found. Shary has more or less been swallowed up by the frontal system that is coming to you mid-week, so there will be a slight contribution there, and Tomas continues to intensify slowly in the eastern Caribbean, with a threat to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, or eastern Cuba from a possible cat-3 or 4 storm late this week. From there it may become entangled in a low pressure system over the eastern U.S. and make a late surge north towards New England.

The Clare Herald Daily Long Range Weather Forecast provided by Peter O'Donnell

USEFUL WEATHER LINKS

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RAINFALL RADAR

Stormy weather at Portbradden, North Antrim, Northern Ireland- OCT 19 2010

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TODAY ... dry to start in most places, some sunshine in the north and east mostly, but also one or two showers in a freshening southeast breeze. Rather mild around mid-day but rain moving into the south on stronger east winds 15-30 mph, then spreading slowly north during the late afternoon and evening ... highs 12-14 C, rainfalls 10-15 mms south (by end of day) to 3-7 mms north (mostly evening).

TONIGHT ... periods of rain with fog developing, winds backing to ENE 20-30 mph, chilly and feeling raw, lows 6-8 C.

SUNDAY ... rain breaking up to areas of drizzle or light rain, with some brighter intervals developing, winds backing around further to NNW 20-30 mph and quite chilly with highs 8-10 C. Rainfalls heavier southeast than elsewhere and generally 5-15 mms. Despite all that, there is some chance that parts of Donegal, west Connacht, Clare and Limerick could break into sunshine during the afternoon.

SUNDAY NIGHT ... clearing briefly and rather chilly, fog developing, a slight frost in some inland northern districts but temperatures probably rising after midnight for most as winds back to southwesterly. Lows 2-7 C.

MONDAY ... breezy to windy (SSW 30-45 mph by afternoon) and turning milder again, with intermittent rain developing, becoming heavy in Connacht by evening. Highs 12-15 C.

TUESDAY ... showery, windy, mild, highs near 14 C.

WEDNESDAY ... showery, windy, very mild, highs near 16 C.

OUTLOOK ... slightly cooler but still above 10 C for most, in a west to northwest flow of unsettled partly cloudy Atlantic air mass.

The weather here in western Canada was cloudy and mild on Friday with a bit of light rain, and at present we have snow only above 1200m on the local mountains. Shary became a stronger tropical storm east of Bermuda but appears to be rapidly phasing with the westerlies now and should lose tropical characteristics soon. Tomas continues to strengthen and many observers feel that it could become a major hurricane near Jamaica by early November, with Haiti also at risk (let's hope not).

The Clare Herald Daily Long Range Weather Forecast provided by Peter O'Donnell

USEFUL WEATHER LINKS

FANORE SURF REPORT here

AUTOMATED WEATHER STATION AT BLACK HEAD, FANORE here

LATEST CONDITIONS AROUND IRELAND here

DAILY WEATHER DATA FROM CO CLARE here

UK AND IRELAND SATELLITE here

WIND OBSERVATION MAP here

IRISH WEATHER FORUM here

RAINFALL RADAR

Stormy weather at Portbradden, North Antrim, Northern Ireland- OCT 19 2010

FULL STORY >>

TODAY ... cloudy with periods of rain, becoming heavy at times in the south this morning, possibly thundery at times, spreading to the east by afternoon. Amounts of 10-30 mms likely, with the least in northwest counties. Highs near 12 C northwest, 14-16 C southeast. Winds only moderate but sometimes light, from the southeast in eastern Ireland, and from the northwest by afternoon in the west ... some brighter intervals following the rain in western counties.

TONIGHT ... becoming foggy with near zero visibilities at times in rural areas and across higher terrain, winds SE 10-20 mph backing to E 15-25 mph, occasional light rain mostly in the south coastal districts. Lows 8-10 C.

SATURDAY ... mostly cloudy and misty or drizzly to start, although some dry intervals in the far north ... periods of rain with fog redeveloping across southern counties by mid-afternoon, becoming heavy overnight ... rainfalls light in far north, 5-15 mms central, 15-30 mms south. Highs about 12 C. Winds light easterly with the rain, moderate E-NE further north (gusting to 40 mph in Donegal and northern coastal counties).

SUNDAY ... rain continuing at times, heavier in the southeast, winds becoming northerly 15-30 mph, chilly with mist, drizzle or fog, the occasional witch or goblin too, temperatures steady near 8 C or slowly falling in northwest to about 5-6 C. Rainfalls near 5 mms generally but 10-20 mms south.

MONDAY ... rain at times, becoming windy again from the southwest, milder, highs near 13 C. Rainfalls 10-15 mms. Due mostly to the long interval of wet weather, some local flooding could develop.

OUTLOOK ... very mild with some showery intervals but also some dry weather at times. Highs mid-week around 14 C. Windy at times.

The weather here (Vancouver) on Thursday (28th) was cloudy with some light rain at times, but it was mild and not too unpleasant. Highs reached 14 C. A warm spell ended late in the day on the east coast as strong west winds arrived, but earlier, highs were near 24 C (today only 12 C expected). A new tropical storm, Shary, has formed east of Bermuda but probably won't amount to much, but a more interesting storm seems to be trying to form quite far south near the coast of Guyana (in South America) at about 8 deg N -- this may become a tropical storm or even a hurricane over the weekend or early next week. It could move inland in Venezuela, but some models are taking it northwest towards Puerto Rico. A third candidate for storm-hood (?) is located southwest of Madeira. The next two names to be used this year are Tomas and Virginie. Then it's on to Walter and the Greek alphabet after that (used only once, in late 2005).

The Clare Herald Daily Long Range Weather Forecast provided by Peter O'Donnell

USEFUL WEATHER LINKS

FANORE SURF REPORT here

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LATEST CONDITIONS AROUND IRELAND here

DAILY WEATHER DATA FROM CO CLARE here

UK AND IRELAND SATELLITE here

WIND OBSERVATION MAP here

IRISH WEATHER FORUM here

RAINFALL RADAR

Stormy weather at Portbradden, North Antrim, Northern Ireland- OCT 19 2010

FULL STORY >>