Met Éireann has extended its status yellow warning to counties Donegal, Leitrim, and Sligo. The rainfall alert initially issued on Sunday covered Galway and Mayo.

Falls of 25mm to 40mm are expected between 1pm this Monday and 5am on Tuesday in the five counties, as ex-tropical storm Helene reaches Irish shores, posing a risk of spot flooding.

Strong winds

Strong winds are also forecast along the south and east coasts, but warnings for those areas have so far been confined to marine areas.

Overall, Met Éireann expects this week to be particularly wet, with twice the usual amount of rainfall in many areas and three to four times average in parts of the northwest.

On the positive side, forecasters expect soil moisture deficits in central, easter and southern areas to improve this week from the 30mm to 55mm still observered at the weekend.

NI wind warning

The UK Met Office has issued a separate status yellow warning covering Northern Ireland all day on Wednesday. A spell of very windy weather is expected and gusts of 50mph to 60mph are possible inland. This may cause damage to trees and buildings, as well as power cuts.

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Rainfall warning extended in northwest

Five counties are now under a status yellow weather warning until early Tuesday morning, while a separate alert covers Northern Ireland on Wednesday.