Overnight hail and snow are expected to create “tricky” driving conditions in the wake of Storm Eunice, forecasters warn.
An unsettled weekend is in store with further spells of strong winds and heavy rain.
Met Eireann has two status yellow warnings in place nationwide – a wind warning continues until 6pm this evening, while a snow/ice alert remains in place until 10am Saturday.
Donegal County Council gritters will be in action on all main routes from 8pm this evening and again from 6am Saturday morning.
Met Éireann meteorologist Matthew Martin said: “As Storm Eunice clears eastwards away from Ireland this afternoon it’ll take the extremely strong winds with it, however it’ll still remain windy across Ireland until early evening. We’ll also continue to see wintry showers of hail and snow moving in today and overnight, this leading to some tricky driving conditions especially where ice forms.”
Commenting on the outlook for the weekend, meteorologist Matthew Martin continued: “It’s staying unsettled into the weekend and early next week as an active jet stream continues to drive Atlantic weather fronts our way.”
“It’ll stay quite breezy on Saturday with further spells of rain and some sleet and snow during the morning. Another windy day on Sunday with further wet weather leading to localised flooding in places, with winds picking up further on Sunday night.”
A yellow rain warning is in place for Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo on Saturday at 1600 until Sunday at 1600. Further warnings may be issued over the weekend and Met Éireann are advising people to keep a close eye on weather forecasts and warnings over the weekend.