Louth County Council - Storm Chandra Update

Members of Louth County Council’s Severe Weather Assessment Team (SWAT) attended a Met Éireann Technical Briefing on Tuesday in preparation for Storm Chandra.

A Status Yellow Rainfall Warning for Louth is in effect from midnight to 11pm on Tuesday, 27 January, while a Status Yellow Wind Warning is also in place from 5am to 11pm on Tuesday, 27 January.

A High River Flood Advisory has also been issued for County Louth. Out-of-bank flooding, exceeding known flood levels, is expected on rivers, with coastal areas expected to exceed Highest Astronomical Tides (HAT) due to storm conditions.

There is a high risk of river flooding from midnight on Tuesday, 27 January to 9am on Thursday, 29 January, due to saturated ground and heavy, persistent rainfall.

Representatives from Met Éireann and the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) briefed attendees on expected local impacts. Some of the possible impacts relating to Louth include:

• Significant rainfall on higher ground in the north of County Louth.
• The Cooley Peninsula is expected to experience very high rainfall, leading to swollen rivers and streams, which may burst their banks and cause significant runoff from mountain areas.
• Coastal areas may experience overtopping at high tides: 4:45pm on Monday, 26 January and 5:30am (highest risk) and 5:55 pm on Tuesday, 27 January.
• Rivers across the county may break their banks and spill onto floodplains.
• Wellington Quay, Drogheda is likely to experience flooding during the period of high tides.
• Travelling conditions will be difficult for the next 36 hours due to heavy rain and strong winds

Louth County Council’s Operations Team is actively working to prepare for the impacts of the storm by clearing gullies and distributing sandbags.

Sandbags are also available from the following locations around the county: Bush, Co Louth; Town Hall Yard, Dundalk; Dundalk Machinery Yard (Behind Garda Barracks); Ship Street, Drogheda; Wellington Quay, Drogheda; Woodlands Depot; Ardee Civic Office Yard; Stockwell Lane, Drogheda; North Quays, Drogheda; Greenhills, Drogheda; Baltray, Drogheda.

Members of the public are encouraged to monitor Met Éireann forecasts over the next 24 hours as conditions may change quickly. Visit www.met.ie/ for the most up-to-date information. Information is also available across the Met Éireann App, social media platforms (@meteireann) and other news media sources. 

Louth County Council will continue to provide updates across its X, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads channels.