Updated at 12pm
HEAVY RAIN WILL continue throughout the day in Leinster and Munster as a number of roads remain closed due to flooding and incidents.
A status yellow rainfall warning is currently in place in Munster and Leinster and will be valid until 9pm.
Up to 40 mm has been forecast to fall, but Met Eireann says “larger totals are expected on higher ground”.
Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) has been working throughout the morning to clear flooded areas and attend the scenes of a number of road incidents.
A number of crashes have been reported this morning including on the M50 northbound, the M1 southbound and on the Dublin/Blessington Road.
DFB responded to a three car collision on the Longmile Road near the Halfway House this morning.
Road users are being advised to leave extra time for journeys, slow down and increase braking distance.
AA Roadwatch is reporting on the traffic updates, it says there is flooding on many routes in the city centre this morning.
By early this morning, AA’s breakdown assistance provider had already receive reports of over 20 flood-related breakdowns.
“By 10am we had already been called to attend 25 flood damaged vehicles. It’s important that motorists in flood-affected areas avoid driving through larger pools of water where possible as it’s easy to be deceived about how deep the water is,” AA’s director of consumer affairs Conor Faughnan said.
“Meanwhile, in the coming days a drop in temperatures is likely to wreak havoc on car batteries, particularly if they’re older or weaker, so it’s important that motorists give their car a quick check today before conditions take a turn for the worst from tomorrow.”
The Infirmary Road near Phoenix Park was closed due to flooding but it has since re-opened. The Clontarf Road is impassable at the Mount Prospect Avenue junction due to flooding.
There is also flooding on the Stillorgan Road inbound between Mount Merrion Ave and the Fosters Ave junction. AA Roadwatch reports that traffic can get by with care in the right lane.
The M3 southbound at Blanchardstown has been affected by major flooding.
A number of homes in Newcastle Manor in Dublin are at risk of being flooded but DFB are on scene pumped excess water from the roads in an attempt to prevent the homes from being affected.
In Kildare there is heavy surface water on all routes around Clane.
The Naas to Newbridge road is closed in both directions near Tougher due to flooding. The heavy rain has also affected traffic heading towards Newbridge.
Many roads in Munster are also affected, with reports of flooding in Kerry, Tipperary and Waterford.
Gardaí are reporting flooding in places around Ballybunion, Listowel, Ballheigue, Ballyduff and Causeway, with spot flooding in parts.
It’s not just flooding and collisions that have slowed traffic down this morning. Debris from trees and bushes have made a number of paths and roads impassable.
DFB has said that many localised flooding incidents have been caused by fallen debris blocking road drains.
The left lane of Blackthorn Drive westbound has been shut off due to fallen debris.
Keep up to date with further traffic alerts with AA Roadwatch.
With reporting by Hayley Halpin.
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