Met Éireann has upgraded its wind warning for four counties to Status Orange as Storm Kathleen is set to arrive on Saturday (April 6).
The warning for counties Cork; Kerry; Galway and Mayo will be in effect from 7:00a.m until 5:00p.m pm Saturday.
The national meteorological service said that Storm Kathleen will bring gale force southerly winds, with some severe and damaging gusts.
This will lead to very difficult travel conditions, fallen trees and some power outages in places.
There will also be a risk of coastal flooding and wave overtopping.
Met Éireann
Meanwhile, Met Éireann has also issued a Status Yellow warning for strong winds for the entire country during Saturday.
The warning, which applies to all counties, will be in place from 7:00a.m until 8:00p.m on Saturday.
The UK Met Office has issued a Status Yellow wind warning for Northern Ireland from 8:00a.m until 10:00p.m on Saturday.
It said that “a deep area of low pressure will bring a spell of very windy weather to western areas this weekend”.
A Status Yellow gale warning will be in place on coastal waters from Mizen Head to Valentia to Loop Head between 6:00a.m and 3:00p.m on Friday.
A similar warning for coasts from Carnsore Point to Valentia to Malin Head will be valid from 11:00p.m on Friday until 7:00p.m on Saturday.
Storm Kathleen, which was named by Met Éireann, is the 11th storm of the 2023/2024 season.
The low-pressure system is being described by meteorologists as “dynamic” and therefore there may be further updates to weather warnings.
Deputy head of forecasting at Met Éireann, Liz Coleman said that many people will be travelling over the weekend as the Easter holidays come to an end and may not be expecting such unseasonably strong and gusty winds.
“Please make sure to plan your journeys in advance by keeping in contact with the forecast.
“We are likely to see some trees down due to the saturated soils and strong winds.
“There will be dangerous conditions at sea too, coupled with wave overtopping and coastal flooding in some areas,” she said.
Weather
Met Éireann has said that the rest of this week will be unsettled with frequent showers and rain, and some heavy downpours at times.
As a result, rainfall amounts will largely be between two and five times higher than normal, with the wettest conditions expected in the west and southwest.
As wetter than normal weather is expected over the coming week, soil conditions are likely to deteriorate.
All poorly drained and some moderately soils will be waterlogged, while many well drained soils will become saturated.