Storm Boelo to Keep Irish Soils Waterlogged Until Monday

Storm Boelo, the second named storm of the 2026/2027 season, will deepen already saturated soils, keep river levels high and sustain surface flooding risk across Ireland until Monday, according to Met Éireann.

The national meteorological service said the storm "may exacerbate conditions arising after Storm Austen relating to saturated soils, high river levels, surface flooding, as well as weakened trees, until Monday."

For farmers, the practical consequence is blunt. Moderately drained soils will become waterlogged over the weekend, Met Éireann said. That rules out machinery traffic on vulnerable ground and delays any fieldwork planned for the bank holiday window.

What warnings are in force?

Several Met Éireann warnings remain in place:

• A status orange wind warning for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo. Gale force westerly winds with severe and damaging gusts will start early on Saturday afternoon and continue into Sunday morning.
• Yellow wind warnings for Connacht, Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Donegal, running from early Saturday afternoon to early Sunday afternoon.

How will the weekend develop?

Rain, heavy at times with the potential for localised flooding, will clear southeastwards through Saturday afternoon, with blustery showers following.

"Fresh to strong, gusty southwest winds will veer west and increase very strong and very gusty this evening, strongest in Connacht and Ulster, [with] highest temperatures of 12° to 15°," the forecast said.

"Heavy showers will continue with isolated thunderstorms and localised flooding possible, [with] lowest temperatures of 5° to 8°."

Sunday morning will be windy and blustery, with sunshine and showers and fresh to strong, gusty westerly winds. Winds will gradually ease through the afternoon and evening. Showers will die out in most areas, though north Ulster will retain some wind. Highest temperatures will reach 10° to 12°.

Sunday night will start mainly dry. Rain will develop in the southwest and spread northeastwards to all areas, with moderate south to southeast winds. Lowest temperatures will sit between 3° and 8°.

What about Bank Holiday Monday?

Monday will be a wet day with spells of rain, heavy at times, moderate to fresh southerly winds and highest temperatures of 15° or 16°.

Rain will clear eastward on Monday night, with showers following from the west. Fresh to strong southwesterly winds will become westerly. Lowest temperatures will range from 7° to 9°.

What does this mean for soils?

Met Éireann has estimated rainfall volumes over the coming week at well above average nationwide, at up to two to three times the norm for this time of year. That is the sharpest measure of the pressure on land: in effect, three weeks of typical rain compressed into one.

Mean air temperatures will stay close to or below average, ranging from 9° to 13°. Mean soil temperatures are expected to decrease slightly but remain above average.

The one positive signal is timing. Met Éireann said moderately drained soils will show a slight improvement towards the end of the coming week, once Boelo and the follow-on rain bands clear.

Livestock farmers should also weigh the weakened-tree risk flagged by the forecaster, particularly on the orange warning corridor along the west and northwest, where gale force westerlies and severe gusts arrive from early Saturday afternoon.

Farmers should watch for warning updates from Met Éireann through the weekend and expect ground conditions on moderately drained soils to begin recovering only late in the coming week.