Storm Babet: Cork City's Lee Flood, October 2023

Storm Babet, named by the UK Met Office, tracked towards Ireland on 18-19 October 2023 bringing a deep area of low pressure from the Atlantic. The Lee catchment in Cork had already received above-average rainfall throughout October. The ESB's Carrigadrohid and Iniscarra reservoirs were operating at high storage levels. Met Éireann issued a Status Orange rainfall warning for Cork on the evening of 18 October, with forecasts of 50-80mm of rain expected over 24 hours across the Lee headwaters near Macroom.

By the early morning of 19 October, the Lee at Cork city's tidal gauge was showing a rapid rise. The ESB began controlled releases from Iniscarra Dam to manage reservoir levels — a necessary but flood-worsening step that Cork residents have come to associate with significant flooding events. Release rates increased through the morning as inflows from the upper catchment exceeded the dam's storage capacity. At the Port of Cork tide gauge, the Lee crested above 2.5m by mid-morning.