Met Éireann has confirmed that it will replace county-wide weather warnings with a new localised system later this year.

The national meteorological service is currently working on developing the new system.

"Met Éireann continuously engages with key stakeholders on its weather warnings system.

"The current system is well established, robust and aligned with international best practice," a spokesperson for Met Éireann told Agriland.

Met Éireann

Met Éireann is "progressing" on more localised, polygon or shape based weather warnings.

This system which will replace county-wide alerts with sub-county guidance which Met Éireann said "is more relevant to communities".

"This enhanced localisation will provide clearer direction to those at risk and support more targeted emergency preparedness.

"The aim is to have this system in place later in 2026," the spokesperson added.

The development of the new weather warning system was confirmed in a response to a recent parliamentary question by Laois Fine Gael TD Willie Aird.

Deputy Aird has welcomed the proposed change, adding that the current system is "too broad for Ireland’s varied landscape and island conditions and often results in warnings not reflecting the actual risk on the ground".

Weather warnings

Deputy Aird said that during named storms and periods of wintry weather, Status Orange or Red alerts are sometimes issued for several counties "even though only particular areas within those counties face severe conditions".

He said this can lead to widespread school closures and disruption when the threshold for the higher level warning has only been reached in one part of a county.

“The new system will bring clarity. It will end the unnecessary disruption that blanket county warnings can cause while still giving clear safety information to the people who need it,” he said.

Deputy Aird added that "a more targeted approach" would have been appropriate during the heavy snowfall in January 2025.

“High ground areas of Laois, Kilkenny, Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary were technically in red alert conditions with disruptive levels of snowfall, while lower lying parts of those counties had very different circumstances with mostly rain.

"A county-wide warning simply does not reflect that reality.

"This is a practical step that will help protect homes, businesses and lives,” he added.