County

Storm Boelo Set to Hit Monaghan Harder Than Storm Austen This Weekend, Magheracloone Forecaster Warns

A second named storm, Boelo, is due on Saturday, with a UK Met Office wind warning for the six northern counties along the Monaghan border. Gerry Murphy says it will bite harder locally than Storm Austen, which is mainly a southern and eastern event.

By the Monaghan Brief staff · Edited by Seamus McKenna · Published 22 Oct, 14:31 · 2 min read

Save for later

Lough Muckno under summer clouds — Lough Muckno, Castleblayney. Archive location photograph; not a photo of the events in this story. Giorgio Galeotti · CC BY 4.0. Resized and colour-graded; cropped in layout.

Monaghan is likely to feel this weekend's second storm more than the first. The UK Met Office has named Storm Boelo, which is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain on Saturday, less than 48 hours after Storm Austen was announced, Northern Sound reported on Thursday.

Speaking on Northern Sound's Joe Finnegan Show, Magheracloone forecaster Gerry Murphy said Storm Boelo will have a bigger impact on Cavan and Monaghan than Storm Austen.

Storm Austen: tonight and Friday morning

Storm Austen arrives from the Atlantic on Thursday night. Met Éireann's warnings, as published on Thursday afternoon, are aimed at the south and east. A Status Yellow rain and wind warning covers Leinster and Munster from 7pm on Thursday until 10am on Friday. A Status Orange rain warning applies to Cork, Kerry and Waterford from 10pm to 5am, and a second Status Orange rain warning covers Dublin, Wexford and Wicklow from 2am to 8am on Friday. County Monaghan was not among the counties listed in those warnings when we checked.

Mr Murphy said the centre of Austen is tracking to the south of Ireland, with Munster and Leinster hit hardest. "For Co Monaghan, especially East Monaghan there could be heavy falls of rain," he said, adding that the North Midlands and the North West look likely to "escape the worst of this". He warned there is potential for flooding in eastern parts of the county if rainfall is heavy enough, but said river flooding was "unlikely", and that Cavan and Monaghan should not suffer "too badly" from Austen itself.

Storm Boelo: Saturday into Sunday

Boelo is a different story for the north. Met Éireann said, in a statement carried by RTÉ, that "the north and west of Ireland will experience strong winds, as well as heavy rain in the west", with the storm expected to "track across/close to the northwest of Ireland and northern Scotland over the weekend". Northern Sound reported that Met Éireann warnings for Saturday are expected to be issued soon.

Across the border, the UK Met Office has put a Yellow wind warning in place from 6pm on Saturday until 3pm on Sunday for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Derry and Tyrone, which includes the three counties that share a border with Monaghan. It is forecasting gusts of 50 to 60mph, and 65 to 75mph in exposed spots, along with blustery heavy showers. The Met Office warned of possible power cuts, damage such as tiles blown from roofs, and longer journey times or cancellations on roads and public transport, RTÉ reported.

Travelling this weekend

Bus Éireann says all its services are scheduled to run as normal for now, but that the weather could cause disruption in some areas, the Anglo-Celt reported. Chief Customer Officer Allen Parker said Met Éireann is forecasting challenging driving conditions from Thursday evening and through the weekend, with warnings about flooding, road debris and fallen trees. "The best approach would be to check service updates on our website before leaving home," he said. Updates are posted at buseireann.ie/service-updates.

Anyone with plans for weekend matches, Halloween events or long drives, especially on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, should check Met Éireann's warnings again on Friday and Saturday, as the Boelo warnings for this side of the border have yet to be published.

Sources

This article is an original summary based on the following reporting. We encourage readers to visit the original sources for full coverage.

THE MORNING BRIEF

Get the Monaghan Brief in your inbox each morning

The day's County Monaghan news, from council and courts to GAA and community events, in one short email. Free, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

We use your email only to send the Brief. Details in our privacy policy.

Your next read

The Diamond in Monaghan town on a sunny day

Monaghan Town · archive

County

Monaghan Farmers' Strike-Delayed BISS Payments to Issue Before the Weekend, as MEP Mullooly Warns a CAP Cut Would Hit Cavan and Monaghan Hard

The 2026 BISS and CRISS advance payments, held up by the public sector strike, will start issuing before the weekend at a 75% rate, Minister Martin Heydon has confirmed. Monaghan farmers were paid close to €26.5 million under the main schemes for 2025, and MEP Ciaran Mullooly says any cut to the next CAP would hit Cavan and Monaghan hard.

20 Oct, 15:23 · 3 min read

Lough Muckno · archive

County

Storm Austen: Monaghan Under Status Yellow Rain Warning From 7pm Thursday to 8am Friday

Met Éireann has put County Monaghan, along with every other county, under a Status Yellow rain warning for Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season. It runs from 7pm on Thursday 22 October to 8am on Friday 23 October, with localised flooding and difficult driving possible.

20 Oct, 13:46 · 3 min read

Drumlin country · archive

County

246 Fraud Crimes Reported in Monaghan This Year: 'Do Not Click on the Links,' Superintendent Warns

Gardaí in Co Monaghan have recorded 246 fraud and deception crimes so far in 2026, 75 of them in the third quarter alone. Superintendent Pat O'Connell told the Joint Policing Committee that many began with a link in a text or email, and a free AIB talk on online fraud is planned for Monaghan Town in December.

20 Oct, 17:16 · 2 min read