Updated: 12.30pm
A Status Orange wind warning has been issued for Donegal this Sunday ahead of the expected impact of Storm Atiyah.
Atiyah will be the first winter storm to strike Ireland and the UK, and it is due to bring very strong winds and flooding risks to the northwest and west coast of Ireland.
Met Eireann has already issued a Status Orange wind warning for Donegal as they monitor developments.
“Storm Atiyah will track between Iceland and Ireland on Sunday generating a swathe of very strong winds across the country,” said the warning.
“Southwesterly winds later veering northwesterly will reach mean speeds of 65 to 80 km/h with gusts from 110 to 130km/h.
“Due to a combination of high seas and storm surge there is a possibility of coastal flooding.”
The alert is in place from 9am on Sunday to 6am on Monday morning for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare, Kerry and Limerick. Other counties under a Status Yellow warning include Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Roscommon, Cork, Tipperary and Waterford.
Liz Walsh from Met Eireann said that Sunday is shaping up to be a stormy day:
“Widespread rain on Saturday night will clear eastwards overnight with a cooler, more showery westerly airflow following into Sunday. There is a threat of strong winds developing, accompanied by severe and squally gusts, chiefly in parts of the west and southwest, but the exact details as well as the timings are still open to change. Whatever the case, Sunday is shaping up to be a windy day countrywide with squally showers in the mix.”
