Met Éireann has issued a Status Yellow warning for wind for five counties on the west coast, which came into effect this morning (Saturday, January 7) and will remain in place for almost 24 hours.
The effected counties are Kerry, Clare, Galway, Mayo, and Donegal.
In these areas, southerly winds, veering southwesterly, will be very strong and gusty, especially near coasts, with localised wave overtopping possible, Met Éireann warned.
The Status Yellow warning came into effect at 10:00am this morning, and will remain in place until 8:00a.m tomorrow.
In general across the country, cloudy skies and periodic showers look set to remain in place for the next few days.
This morning will be cloudy and windy as rain moves to give way to some sunny spells. The wind is expected to build and strong southwest gales will blow in the north and west.
This will give way to a windy and cloudy night with heavy showers right across the country, the heaviest of which will be along the Atlantic coast. There is a possibility of hail in these counties too, while the east will experience drier spells as overnight lows reach 4° to 7°.
Similar weather will continue on Sunday (January 8), with persistent blustery winds during the day as the showers become widespread and occasionally heavy.
Met Éireann has also stated there may be some thunder in Atlantic coastal counties, while temperatures in the east of the country won’t go above 9°.
On Sunday night, similar conditions will continue with the possibility of hail remaining. However, temperatures are estimated to remain above freezing, with lows of 1° to 4°.
Next week will begin with heavy cloud coverage and scattered showers on Monday (January 9) that will mainly affect western areas.
Meanwhile, in the eastern regions it will stay largely dry with westerly breezes, which are expected to move off as showers move north to Ulster. It will be a cool night with lows again of 1° to 4°.