MET ÉIREANN HAS issued weather warnings for four counties in southern Ireland, which are due to come into place on Thursday.

From 11am on Thursday, Cork and Kerry will come under two separate weather warnings.

A Status Yellow alert for rain will be in place across Cork and Kerry from 11am Thursday to 8pm, with Met Éireann warning of potential impacts including localised flooding, difficult travelling conditions and poor visibility.

And also from 11am Thursday, Cork and Kerry, as well as Waterford and Wexford, will come under a Status Yellow wind warning.

This alert will remain in place until 11pm on Thursday night, with Met Éireann forecasting very strong and gusty southerly winds.

Possible impacts include difficult travelling conditions, some fallen trees, and waves overtopping.

Meanwhile, a Status Yellow gale warning for all coasts of Ireland and on the Irish Sea will be in force from 7am Thursday until midnight.

Southeasterly winds veering southerly will reach gale force 8 at times.

Elsewhere, Met Éireann said that the remnants of Hurricane Melissa will likely bring “plenty of rain and unsettled weather” to Ireland later in the week but added that it’s too early to say so with certainty.

The Grade Five hurricane is to hit Jamaica today and cause catastrophic damage. 

It’s then expected to hit Cuba, turn north-east and strike the south-east Bahamas by tomorrow evening.

A meteorologist from Met Éireann told The Journal that by the time the impact of the hurricane reaches Irish shores, it will have gone through so much change that it will look quite different to what the Caribbean is seeing.

“It could end up being almost nothing by the time it gets to us. You could never say with certainty what we will expect.”