WOWSER! Check out what July downpours have done to River Barrow!

The unseasonal intense rain in July has created a spectacular waterfall on the River Barrow.

Visitors to the Laois beauty spot at Glenbarrow in the Slieve Bloom mountains captured winter-like water flows on the falls on July 15.

See more below video tweeted by Kim Timlin who said the River Barrow was at full flow. 

Glenbarrow in full flow today!! @LaoisWeather @LaoisNews @tourism_laois pic.twitter.com/UV8KB3EVXw

— Ken Timlin (@timlin_ken) July 15, 2023

The Offices of Public Works publishes river levels in real-time online. It showed the level at the Borness measuring point on the River Barrow near Mountmellick jumping by over a metre to almost 1.5 metres in between July 14 and July 16.

The OPW reported a five-fold increase in the level of the Barrow in Portarlington between July 14 and July 16 when the level in the Laois Offaly town peaked at nearly 1.8 metres. This is less than a metre of the median flood level for the town of 2.4 metres.

Met Éireann's farming section said rainfall amounts over the past seven days were well above normal across the country with between 2.5 and 5.5 times the average for the time of year recorded. 

 The greatest deviation from normal was recorded not far from Laois at Oak Park Co. Carlow where 71.4mm was recorded which was about 5.5 times the average.

No great improvement is on the cards for the week ahead with further spells of rain and showers with wetter than average conditions expected in most areas. Met Éireann warns people to expect 20 to 50mm generally wich is one to three times the normal amounts.

The national outlook from Met Éireann says it will remain unsettled or changeable with temperatures a little below average for the time of year.

THURSDAY: Another day of scattered showers with a mix of cloudy and bright periods. Highs of 15 to 18 degrees with light or moderate northwest winds.

FURTHER OUTLOOK: Similar conditions on Friday with further showers, perhaps turning cloudier.