Galway Bay fm newsroom – Motorists across Galway are urged to drive with extreme caution this morning as floods have risen in many areas due to the most recent heavy rainfall
There is spot flooding on main Galway routes and rising waters on minor routes
The N17 has spot flooding in several areas while the M18 between Tubber and Gort is also affected
While it’s hoped the difficult conditions will ease later in the morning with Met Eireann promising drier conditions in Galway, Gardai say care is needed at the moment
Galway is not included in the highest weather alert for today which is orange and covers Cork, Kerry and Clare where they are expecting up to 50 millimetres of rain.
However Galway is included in the lower status yellow rain warning but it’s hope the rain will ease off in the late morning early afternoon but it will be very cold
This morning all routes are busy as people head to Galway city and county towns for Christmas shopping and socialising
The most up to date information on flooded roads in the county is on an interactive map provided by the county council with a link on its twitter account
The council is also providing an out of hours service for emergencies associated with the flooding – 091 509069
River levels are expected to peak in the lower Shannon on Sunday and Monday.
Farmers are already working with the Irish Red Cross manning pumps to divert flood waters.
Galway city council has crews on standby with the Salthill area the one of most concern.