Met Éireann has warned of gale force west to northwest winds and severe gusts causing disruption and difficult travelling conditions due to Storm Elin today (Saturday, December 9).
Status Orange wind warnings will come into effect in Co. Wicklow, Dublin and Donegal today. The wind warning for Wicklow will be in place from 11:00a.m until 5:00p.m today.
From 12:00p.m until 3:00p.m today the wind warning for Dublin will be place, while Met Éireann also warns of potential wave overtopping in Donegal between 2:00p.m and 6:00p.m today.
Storm Elin
A Status Yellow wind warning for Clare, Tipperary and Connacht is now in place. Strong and gusty west to northwest winds with the potential for wave overtopping will occur until 6:00p.m.
Strong and gusty west to northwest winds will also cause disruption and travelling difficulties in Leinster, Cavan and Monaghan between 10:00a.m and 8:00p.m today.
Two separate Status Yellow wind and rain warnings will come into effect in Donegal today, where strong and gusty west winds will be combined with heavy falls of rain at times.
Met Éireann warns of difficult travelling conditions and debris and loose objects being displaced in Donegal between 12:00p.m and 2:00p.m as well as from 6:00p.m to 8:00p.m today.
Storm Fergus
A Status Orange wind warning for Clare, Galway and Mayo will be in effect from 3:00p.m until 8:00p.m tomorrow (Sunday, December 10), as very strong onshore winds will occur due to Storm Fergus.
High waves and high tides may lead to localised flooding and wave overtopping, the forecaster said. A Status Yellow wind warning will also be in place for the counties from 2:00p.m until 9:00p.m tomorrow.
Cavan, Dublin, Kildare, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo will also be impacted by a Status Yellow wind warning between 6:00p.m and midnight tomorrow.
Met Éireann warned that Storm Fergus will generate very strong and gusty southwesterly winds, veering westerly, leading to difficult travelling conditions and debris and loose objects being displaced.
Northern Ireland
The UK Met Office also warned of a band of heavy rain, which will give a risk of localised flooding and some travel disruption until 7:00p.m today in Antrim, Down, Tyrone and Derry.
A Status Yellow wind warning is also currently in place until 11:45p.m today with strong winds perhaps leading to some transport disruption in Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone.
Weather forecast
It will be very windy or stormy today with sustained high westerly winds developing due to Storm Elin with some severe or damaging gusts expected by the forecaster.
Sunny spells and blustery showers will develop mainly over southern counties, while cloudier further north with rain mostly confined to Ulster, north Connacht and north Leinster at 8° to 12°.
Tonight, strong and gusty westerly winds will ease for a time with mostly clear weather following for much of the night. Rain will, however, affect northern fringes early on.
Later in the night, outbreaks of rain and freshening southerly winds will move into Connacht and Munster with lowest temperatures ranging between 3° to 7°.
Tomorrow, overnight wet and breezy weather will quickly extend to all areas during the morning, with a temporary clearance following.
However, further outbreaks of thundery rain will extend down from the northwest into the afternoon and evening, turning very windy from later in the afternoon.
Affecting especially the west, gale force southwest to west winds and some severe or damaging gusts are expected to lead to some wave overtopping with highest temperature of 8° to 12°.