A STATUS YELLOW wind warning is in place for much of the country with strong northwest winds and gusts of up to 110 km/h expected.

The wind warning for Munster, Connacht, Donegal, Offaly, Laois, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Wicklow, Kildare and Dublin came into effect at 10.40am this morning.

It will remain in place until 8pm tonight, with “very strong west to northwest winds developing”.

Counties Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Galway had been under a Status Yellow warning since midnight.

An orange marine storm warning is also in place from Carnsore Point to Valentia to Bloody Foreland until 4pm this afternoon. 

Wind warning for: Munster, Connacht, Donegal, Offaly, Laois, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Wicklow, Kildare, Dublin

Very strong W to NW winds. Gusts of 80 to 110 km/h, stronger in coastal areas & high ground. Wave overtopping in coastal areas.

Valid to 8pmhttps://t.co/Xg3aMJlyuS pic.twitter.com/cSH7q5SOCB

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) April 12, 2023

Status Orange wind warnings had been in place in Kerry and Cork but have since been lifted.

Thousands of people were left without power in Cork this morning due to the weather conditions.

Over 3,500 were affected in Glengarriff , while over 2,200 people had no power in Trabeg. According to ESB Network’s Power Check, these faults have since been restored.

Over 1,200 people remain without power in the south of the country, with 867 outages in Gurranebane in Co Kerry alone. Other affected areas include Clonakilty, Bantry and Kinsale.

In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for ESB Networks said: “The winds associated with Met Éireann’s Status Orange warning led to a number of outages in parts of Cork and Kerry. The scale of disruption has been relatively low and in line with past experiences of similar warnings.

“ESB Networks crews are mobilised and working towards restoring power as quickly and safely as possible. Real-time updates are available on www.powercheck.ie.

“Our crews will continue to respond to any outages as they arise throughout the day. We apologise to those impacted for the disruption caused.”

Met Éireann said it will be very windy today, with widespread gusts of 80 to 110 km/h expected in many areas, becoming stronger in exposed areas.

Today, strong to gale force northwest winds will develop across the country with some severe or damaging gusts possible. 

Showers will merge to longer spells of rain at times, with local downpours and the chance of hail and isolated thunderstorms.

It will become brighter from the west through the afternoon and evening, with sunny spells and isolated showers following.

Highest temperatures will be around 6 to 8 degrees in Ulster and north Leinster, but 9 to 11 degrees.

Met Éireann said tonight will see a mix of clear spells, with scattered showers developing mostly in the west and north.

“Strong west to northwest winds will persist in Ulster and near the east coast overnight, but winds will be generally light to moderate westerly or variable elsewhere,” the forecaster said.

“Lowest temperatures of 0 to 4 degrees, coldest across parts of Munster and south Leinster.”

Tomorrow will bring a mix of sunny spells and showers. The showers will be “heaviest and most frequent in the north and east”, where there is a chance of hail.

Temperatures will range from 9 to 12 degrees.