Met Éireann issues orange warnings for six counties

Met Éireann has issued orange rain warnings for six counties ahead of Storm Austen, warning that intense rainfall could cause flooding and difficult travel conditions from Thursday night into Friday morning. The first orange warning covers Cork, Kerry and Waterford from 10pm on Thursday, October 22. Reports give different end times for this alert: some say it ends at 5am on Friday, October 23, while another says 5pm. The supplied reports do not resolve the discrepancy. A separate orange rain warning applies to Dublin, Wexford and Wicklow from 2am to 8am on Friday, according to the warning schedule reported by Met Éireann. The forecaster also issued a yellow wind and rain warning for the whole country, effective from 7pm Thursday until 10am Friday. Met Éireann warned that heavy rain could bring flooding and very difficult travelling conditions. It also said public transport, including bus and rail services, could face disruption and delays. The national yellow warning covers wind as well as rain; the warnings describe a period of unsettled conditions across the country alongside the more severe, county-specific rain alerts. The storm was forecast to bring heavy rain eastwards...