A Status Orange warning has been issued for two counties as Storm Gerrit is set to hit the country later this evening.
Met Éireann said that very heavy rain tonight, followed by more heavy showers tomorrow may lead to localised flooding.
A Status Orange Rainfall warning will be in place from 8pm tonight until midnight on Thursday for Kerry and west Cork.
A Separate Status Yellow Wind and Rain warning will be in effect for the rest of the country for the same period.
There will be strong southerly winds overnight, which will veer southwesterly tomorrow. These, in conjunction with spring tides, could result in coastal flooding.
#StormGerrit has been named by the UK Met office.
⚠️A yellow wind and rainfall warning is in place for Ireland⚠️
Details➡️https://t.co/Xg3aMJlyuS pic.twitter.com/TY3RjP0JPf— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 26, 2023
Overall, St Stephen’s Day is set to be cold with some sunny spells. While it will be dry for most areas during the day, rain will hit Munster this afternoon and will extend to all areas during the evening and overnight.
The rain could turn to sleet over high grounds and some surface water flooding in possible, along with strong to gale force southeast winds.
It will turn colder towards the end of the week, with frost and ice possible on Friday night and temperatures falling to around -2C in some areas.
The UK Met Office has issued a Yellow wind and rain warning for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Derry from 2am until 10am tomorrow, with wet and windy weather likely to cause some disruption.
UK Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said wet and windy weather will cover “pretty much the whole of the UK”, with significant snowfall in parts of Scotland.
A yellow rain and snow warning is in place from 6am to 9pm across much of Scotland tomorrow.
“There are wind warnings out for the south of England, across the English Channel coast,” Mr Partridge added.
“But we also have wind warnings in force for parts of western Wales, north-west England, Northern Ireland, northern Scotland and the Northern Isles.”
Wind warning areas can expect gusts of 50-60mph, with up to 70mph on high ground and exposed coasts.
“In terms of rain, we have rain warnings out for the whole of Northern Ireland, western Wales, north-west England, and then there’s a combined sort of rain and snow warning for Scotland,” Mr Partridge said.
Rain in the warning areas is forecast to be between 40-60mm, with the potential for 70-90mm in the western hills of Wales and the western side of the Pennines.
Anywhere above 200 metres in Scotland and the Northern Isles is likely to see some snow, he added.
Additional reporting PA
