Just the news all of Ireland’s general election candidates were dreading as they await word of an election date and a step up of their door-to-door canvassing – Storm Jonas is heading for Ireland.
With communities across the country recovering from flooding and certain areas still waiting for waters to subside after the destruction of Storm Frank, the winter storm that brought the US East Coast to a standstill, killing at least 24, will make its way across the Atlantic to pour more rain on a sodden Emerald Isle.
Although last weekend saw higher temperatures than average for January, Ireland can expect heavy rain to sweep across the country from today until Wednesday evening. As Ireland is on the warmer side of the Atlantic weather system, however, it cannot expect any snowfall from the storm that offloaded 27 inches of the white stuff onto New York.
Temperatures reached between 50 and 59℉ (10 and 15℃) in Ireland on Sunday with thanks to a warm southern air flow from the tropics, but significant downpours are expected from today, through Tuesday night, and into Wednesday morning.
Wet & extremely windy weather developing overnight: some heavy rainfall, especially in the SW & W. Lows 5-6C, but rising when the rain comes
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) January 25, 2016
Temperatures are also set to drop once again to between 32 and 38℉ (0 and 3℃).
Met Éireann currently has a national status yellow weather warning in place, predicting south to southwest winds of 37 to 40 mph (60 to 65 km/h), with gusts of 62 to 68 mph (100 to 110 km/h) sweeping through the country until 2pm Tuesday afternoon.
A rainfall warning is in place for West Munster, Connacht and Donegal with predicted rainfalls of 1.1 to 1.5 inches (30 to 40mm) and the possibility of more on higher ground.
There is also a weather advisory in place for Wexford, Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork, Kerry and Waterford where a combination of strong onshore winds, high tides and heavy rain brings a strong risk of coastal flooding on Tuesday.
Yellow level wind and rain warnings will come into effect from midnight on Monday night. More details at: https://t.co/LIC2EnKayX
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) January 25, 2016
With the massive rainfall of December, flooded areas could expect even more flooding with such heavy rainfall on already saturated ground.
The storm will begin to clear throughout Wednesday, although temperatures will remain cold until Thursday.
Travel bans were lifted across the north-eastern United States on Sunday and into Monday as snow was slowly cleared from streets.
These photos show cities recovering after Winter Storm Jonas https://t.co/VTxeaAiKq4 pic.twitter.com/YYBo1sQKcI
— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) January 25, 2016
Dubbed Snowzilla, Storm Jonas paralyzed the north-eastern states killing at least 24 people.
On Saturday, thirteen are believed to have died in car crashes caused by the harsh weather in Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.
One person in Maryland and three people in New York died while shoveling snow.
Officials said that two people also died of hypothermia in Virginia.
Beginning on Friday evening, heavy snow fell throughout Saturday, bringing the lives of an estimated 85 million residents to a standstill as they waited out the storm in their homes.
Video: The US plays in the snow, but there's also clearing up to be done after Storm Jonas https://t.co/LmZIKwUdo6 https://t.co/jIafPamXwf
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 25, 2016
The storm is said to be the second largest in New York history with 26.8in (68cm) recorded in Central Park as of midnight Saturday. The snowfall was just shy of the 26.9in record set in 2006.
By Sunday, the snowfall had stopped and much of the north-east awoke to clear skies and temperatures above freezing while areas in Long Island and Cape Cod bid goodbye to the remnants of the storm.
Washington DC was one of the worst hit areas with Mayor Muriel Bowser calling for 4,000 volunteers to help clear sidewalks and alleys. The storm resulted in the fourth-largest snowfall in the city’s history with a fall of 17.8in (45.2 cm) recorded.
Tian Tian woke up this morning to a lot of snow, and he was pretty excited about it. ���� #blizzard2016 pic.twitter.com/GrhI9t1u7j
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) January 23, 2016
While much of the operations of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority were still suspended, New York governor Andrew Cuomo lifted a travel ban on New York City-area roads and on Long Island at 7am on Sunday, although a state of emergency remains in place and residents are warned to avoid making any journeys unless completely necessary.
All bridges and tunnels into New York have been reopened.
After Winter Storm Jonas, snow removal is underway at New York's LaGuardia Airport. pic.twitter.com/l82Nsdcu56
— Alexandra Talty (@TheMiddleOfTime) January 25, 2016
The storm also caused mayhem for those flying into the north-eastern states with flights from Ireland among the 3,750 flights canceled on Sunday, and 700 canceled on Monday.
About 90,000 people in New Jersey and 150,000 in North Carolina also lost electricity over the weekend and some residents along the New Jersey coast, a region hard hit by Superstorm Sandy, had to be evacuated as high tides caused flooding.
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