County Monaghan is under a Status Yellow rain warning for Thursday night as Storm Austen, the first named storm of the 2026/27 season, crosses the country. Met Éireann issued the nationwide warning at 10:56am on Tuesday 20 October. It is valid from 7pm on Thursday 22 October until 8am on Friday 23 October.

Monaghan is listed in its own right on Met Éireann's county warning feed, so the warning applies across the whole county, from Carrickmacross and Castleblayney in the south to Monaghan Town, Clones, Ballybay and the border roads in the north.

What Met Éireann is warning about

The forecaster says heavy rain linked to Storm Austen will spread eastwards across the country. It has flagged three possible impacts: difficult travelling conditions, localised flooding, and disruption to outdoor events. A yellow warning is the lowest of Met Éireann's three levels, but the Anglo-Celt notes it can still mean hazardous driving, with poor visibility and spray on the roads.

Speaking to RTÉ News, Met Éireann operational meteorologist Ailís Hankinson said the centre of the storm is expected to track to the south of Ireland and on into southern England on Thursday night and into Friday morning. The rain will reach the south-west first and work its way across the country.

"It looks like the south of Ireland will feel the worst impacts and as a result, there may be upgraded warnings," she said. That means the warning for Monaghan could still change over the coming days, so it is worth checking again on Thursday before you head out.

Ms Hankinson said the storm was named by the UK Met Office, because Britain is expected to get the worst of the wind.

Friday and the long weekend

According to Met Éireann, the rain should gradually clear by 8am on Friday, with blustery showers for the rest of the day. The outlook for the October Bank Holiday weekend is not much better. Ms Hankinson told RTÉ the weather is likely to stay unsettled right through to Monday, with more spells of wet and windy weather and temperatures around normal for the time of year, possibly in the low double digits.

There is a separate yellow rain warning for Dublin and Wicklow from 1am to 8am on Wednesday. Monaghan is not included in that one.

A busy few days locally

The warning lands on the opening night of the 25th Clones Film Festival, whose organisers describe Thursday as "just the warm up". The warning is due to end before Friday evening's Ladies Senior League final between Donaghmoyne and Magheracloone in Aughnamullen at 7:30pm, and before Joe Hanratty's new play opens at Íontas in Castleblayney at 8pm. Any change to fixtures or events will come from the organisers, so check with them if the forecast gets worse.

Who to call

Monaghan County Council's 24-hour emergency line is 1800 121 121. It is the number for reporting things like flooded roads and fallen trees. For an emergency where life is at risk, ring 999 or 112. The council also lists these numbers:

Never touch or go near a fallen power line. Report it to ESB Networks straight away. Live Met Éireann warnings for Monaghan are also shown in the Weather & roads box on our homepage.