Fresh wind warning issued for west and south

Met Eireann has issued a new Status Yellow wind warning for seven counties in the west and south.

Issued at 12:00pm today (Friday, December 7), the warning will be valid from 4:00pm this evening through to 1:00am tonight / tomorrow morning.

The notice will affect counties: Leitrim; Sligo; Mayo; Galway; Clare; Kerry; and Cork.

A further spell of strong winds will occur later today and tonight, Met Eireann warns.

Westerly winds with mean winds of 55kph to 65kph – and gusts of 100kph – are possible, especially in coastal areas.

High seas will bring a risk of coastal flooding, the national meteorological office added.

This follows on from a previous Status Yellow warning which had been in place up until 12:00pm today for counties Galway, Mayo and Donegal.

This was preceded by a Status Orange warning for Mayo and Donegal, as well as a Status Yellow notice for the rest of Connacht, as well as Clare, Limerick, Kerry and Cavan.

Overall, a wet and windy weekend looks to be in store with a chance of Sunday being a brighter day with some sunny spells, according to the national forecaster.

Today will be cold with widespread blustery showers and occasional sunny spells. Showers will be heavy in areas with a slight risk of hail and thunder in some cases.

In the north and north-west of the country, the showers will merge to become more prolonged spells of rain later this evening.