Storm Lilian: Rain and wind warnings issued for much of the country with gales expected

Storm Lilian, the first named storm since April, is due to hit Ireland overnight, bringing strong winds and rain.
Weather warnings are in place for much of the country in the wake of Wednesday night’s high tides that followed the aftermath of Atlantic Hurricane Ernesto.
The counties of Clare, Galway, Roscommon, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly and Westmeath are under a yellow warning for heavy rain commencing at 10pm on Thursday night and lasting until 4am on Friday morning.
A gale warning is also in place from Carlingford Lough to Hook Head to Loop Head and on the Irish Sea from Thursday night, while a small craft warning extends around the northwest coast.
A status yellow weather warning was also issued by Met Éireann for Friday for all of Munster, as well as the counties of Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, Wexford and Wicklow, with “unseasonably strong winds” forecast.
The warning comes into force at midnight and will remain in force until 6am on Friday. Met Éireann said the strong winds would coincide again with high tides.
Storm Lilian was named by the UK Met Office, which anticipates challenging conditions in England, Scotland and Wales.
It follows Storm Kathleen, which struck in April. The arrival at the 12th named storm in the season which runs from September to September marks the furthest through the list of names the western European storm naming group has got since the system’s introduction in 2015.
Council crews were out in Galway city overnight into Thursday morning at Spanish Arch where a high tide caused some overtopping.
The road between Seapoint and Galway Business School was closed at both ends and Salthill car parks remained closed on Thursday morning.
Social media footage showed wild seas and overtopping in Salthill on Wednesday evening.
The high tides was caused by a combination of the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto and very high tides which caused difficult conditions for motorists and pedestrians.
Kinvara was flooded, with seawater rising up above the pier and bringing several boats with it.
A status yellow marine gale warning has also been issued from Carlingford Lough in Co Louth around the coast to Loop Head in Co Clare. These warnings are from 9pm on Thursday until 9am on Friday.