Yellow weather warning in place for Northern Ireland

Warnings for heavy rain, flooding and strong winds have been issued across Northern Ireland, with the arrival of Storm Chandra.

A yellow rainfall alert has been issued for Monday from 12:00 for counties Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone.

On Tuesday an Amber warning for wind from 5:00 until 21:00 and a rain warning will come into effect at midnight, which could lead to flooding, as the ground is already saturated.

In the next 48 hours 50 mm of rain is expected in many areas and over 100 mm of rain could fall over high ground in towards the east.

Daera is advising the public not to visit affected forests, country parks and nature reserves or the Public Angling Estate in affected areas until high winds subside.

The Met Office is warning of severe gusts on Tuesday morning of up to 70mph (120/h) for Antrim, Down, and Londonderry.

Stronger gusts are expected in some exposed coastal areas.

The winds are expected to ease a little through the afternoon, before ramping up again later in the afternoon and into Tuesday evening.

Heavy rain will also be an additional hazard with very blustery conditions expected, with large waves around the coast.

Travel disruption can be expected on the roads, in the air, and on the sea.

Outbreaks of rain spreading east across all counties is likely to fall as sleet and snow over some higher ground for a time.

Given recent rainfall and the very saturated conditions of the ground, there is an increasing risk of flooding happening.

The Met Office has warned that some communities could be cut off by floodwater, while possibly fast flowing or deep flood water could cause danger to life.

The Met Office is also warning of a good chance of power cuts and damage to buildings.

Rainfall warnings have also been issued in The Republic of Ireland for counties Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow on Tuesday.