A spell of windy weather is expected from tonight through until Saturday morning, now named Storm Arwen with strongest winds expected later tomorrow and tomorrow night. Storm force winds in the Irish Sea.
Fresh to strong and gusty westerly winds will develop tonight, veering west to northwest tomorrow and increasing near gale force in the northwest. Gusts expected on the coasts, with potential for power outages.
There will be gales or strong gales on coasts and high waves at sea. Neap tides, possible overtopping but no significant flooding expected. It will stay very windy on Friday night, with winds veering north to northwest. Gusts expected in Inishowen Peninsula 16:00 on Friday. At present, a yellow wind warning is in operation for Donegal from 3pm Friday until 6am Saturday, with the possibility of extending to Mayo and Sligo.
Countywide windy conditions expected.
Wintery showers will become widespread tonight and tomorrow and as temperatures drop later tomorrow some of the showers will turn to sleet. Temperatures in the early afternoon will be around 4 to 9 degrees but it will get colder through the afternoon. It will become dry and clear in most areas overnight, but showers will continue in the north and west, with some of these showers wintery. Lowest temperatures of 1 to 4 degrees.
It will still be quite windy on Saturday morning with fresh to strong north to northwest winds, but it will become gradually calmer through the day. It will be a cold and bright day with long spells of sunshine and while most areas will stay dry, there will be a few showers in the north and towards the west coast. Cloud will increase over the western half of the country later. Afternoon temperatures of just 4 to 6 degrees. Early Saturday night will be cloudy, with outbreaks of rain and drizzle moving into western areas. This will move eastwards across the western half of the country overnight. Lowest temperatures of -1 to +4 degrees, coldest in the east, with light to moderate west to northwest winds.
