Flood warning delay 'raises serious questions' about Met Éireann’s Dublin system

Former Lord Mayor Ray McAdam is calling for a review of delayed weather warnings from Met Éireann, stating Dublin City Council relied on them for accurate information to prepare for the severe flooding that occurred across Dublin city last night

News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 11:50, 28 Aug 2026 Updated 14:44, 28 Aug 2026 View 2 Images The aftermath of flash flooding from heavy rainfall near Offaly Road, and surrounding streets in Cabra, Dublin 7 (Image: SAM BOAL/Collins Photos)

The delayed weather warning in Dublin last night “raises serious questions” about whether Met Éireann’s weather warning system is working as it should for Dublin .

That’s according to former Lord Mayor and Fine Gael Councillor Ray McAdam who said warnings should not be coming when the event is already happening as this leaves people in danger and local authorities unprepared and uniformed. With torrential downpours causing flooding around the city since 7pm last night, Cllr McAdam is questioning why a Status Yellow warning was not in place until 8.47pm and the Status Orange warning only followed at 10.31pm.

“Between 7pm and 8pm, approximately 28mm of rain fell in parts of the city. Roads were already flooding, estates were experiencing significant surface water and communities were dealing with the consequences,” the North Inner City rep said.

By the time responders were fully informed, “the event was already happening” he said. Cllr McAdam stressed that Met Éireann’s role is to be Ireland’s forecaster and that means they should be predicting the weather before it comes.

“That is the fundamental problem. A weather warning system must provide meaningful advance warning. It cannot simply confirm conditions that people, communities and emergency services are already experiencing on the ground,” he said.

View 2 Images The aftermath of flash flooding from heavy rainfall near Offaly Road, and surrounding streets in Cabra, Dublin 7 (Image: SAM BOAL/Collins Photos)

“Met Éireann had forecast heavy rain and the possibility of surface flooding earlier in the day. But if that risk was known, we need to understand why a formal warning for Dublin was not issued sooner.

“This matters because Dublin City Council and other local authorities rely on timely and accurate information from Met Éireann to mobilise crews, clear drains, position equipment, monitor known flooding locations and support communities at risk.”

When warnings come after significant flooding has already occurred, this seriously limits the ability of local authorities to prepare and act. “This is not the first occasion this year where concerns have arisen about the timeliness of weather warnings affecting Dublin,” he said.

Cllr McAdam spoke to Dublin Live about multiple delayed warnings throughout 2026, stating that, although heavy rainfall may have been needed due to recent heat waves, there has been “a lot of consternation” about the lack of warnings. “Thankfully, homes weren't flooded on this occasion,” he said while stressing that last night “underscores the importance of an effective alert system”.

“When we had a massive rainfall over Dublin Airport back in February during the midst of that very wet month , the Met were not prepared for it. No warning had been issued to Fingal or Dublin city. And it wasn't again until three in the morning that an alert was issued,” he said.

“By that stage, the horses had already bolted and we saw landslides along the Strawberry Beds. We saw car parks of apartment complexes flooded in Chapelizod and other issues across the Northside of the city.

Cllr McAdam commended those who act fast and address weather events, stating he knows first-hand from chairing high-level working groups within the council how much co-ordination is required. But he pointed out that the Emergency Response Group only convenes on the basis of weather alters coming from Met Éireann.

Without proper pre-alters in place, Cllr McAdam took to social media last night to assure constituents they could get in contact to report localised problems and ensure crews are mobilised and sent to areas in need. The level of engagement on that video, with approximately 15,000 views over the night, underscored for Cllr McAdam that people were searching for information.

The effects of climate change means that extreme weather events, flooding, and heavy rainfall will only become more commonplace across the capital. “When people's homes and livelihoods depend on a national weather forecasting institute, and then for local authorities to be acting on the advice and information coming from the weather forecasting bureau, it is so important that they are right,” Cllr McAdam said.

“My fear is that if we don't improve the system, then we could have a situation where you'd have homes and businesses flooding because we're not getting the information quickly enough from a local authority point of view.

“I believe there now needs to be a proper review of what happened yesterday, why the warnings for Dublin came so late and whether the current warning system gives local authorities enough advance notice to protect communities.

“We need a weather warning system that actually warns us. If the present system cannot consistently do that, it needs to be improved.”

When contacted for comment, a spokesperson from Met Éireann stated:

"Rain affected many parts of the country on Thursday the 27th of August. Met Éireann issued yellow level rainfall warnings for counties in the south and southeast on Wednesday 26th.

"As additional model guidance arrived it indicated the risk of heavy rain was likely to shift northwards. Met Éireann then issued yellow level rainfall warnings for Dublin and Kildare at 20:47 on Thursday evening.

"As the rainfall was being monitored the risk of heavier rainfall in the Dublin area became even more likely and the yellow warning was elevated to orange for Dublin overnight.

"The rain had pockets of highly localised intense downpours which resulted in some surface flooding in parts of Munster and Leinster."

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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