A Status Red wind warning has been issued for Co. Cork as Storm Ellen approaches the country.
Met Éireann said that between 9:00pm and 11:59pm tonight (Wednesday, August 19) Storm Ellen “will produce a core of very severe and destructive winds”.
The storm will hit Ireland tonight with warnings in place from 9:00pm until 12:00pm tomorrow, Thursday.
Orange wind warning for a number of counties
A Status Orange wind warning has also been issued for a number of counties.
The wind warning is in place for counties Galway, Mayo, Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Waterford.
Met Éireann has warned that the storm may lead to flooding: “Due to the combination of storm surge, spring tides and onshore winds there is a potential risk of coastal flooding.
It will become very windy on Wednesday night and throughout the day on Thursday. Severe gusts are likely and there is a risk of some disruption.
There are also Status Yellow wind warnings issued covering the whole island of Ireland.
The warning for the Republic of Ireland was issued at 3:00pm yesterday (Tuesday, August 18), and will be in effect from tonight at 9:00pm.
The warning for Northern Ireland was issued just after 11:00am yesterday morning, and will come into effect one hour earlier tonight.
Both warnings will last throughout all of Thursday and lift at 11:59pm that night.
For Northern Ireland, the UK’s Met Office (which uses a similar system of weather warnings) said: “Strong winds are expected to cause some disruption to travel and power supplies on Thursday.”