LAST UPDATE | 8 Feb 2020

A STATUS ORANGE wind warning has been put in place for the entire country tomorrow between the hours of 5am and 12pm. 

Gusts of up to 140 kilometres per hour and stormy conditions are expected tomorrow. There will be a significant risk of coastal flooding, particularly on west and northwest coasts. 

This follows on from other weather warnings issued by Met Éireann. 

These are: 

• Status Orange wind warning for Donegal and Mayo – 12pm to 4pm today
• Status Orange wind warning for Galway  – 1pm until 6pm today
• Status Yellow rainfall warning for Ireland – 12pm today until 3pm tomorrow
• A Status Red gale warning on Irish coastal waters and the Irish Sea 

The storm will pass to the north of Ireland tomorrow, Met Éireann’s head of forecasting Evelyn Cusack and head of flood forecasting Eoin Sherlock said today. 

It will be “extremely windy” and stormy in certain areas tomorrow morning. Damaging gusts are expected, even in parts of the country not normally impacted by such strong winds.  

There is a significant risk of coastal flooding, especially in north west and west coast. This risk will continue into the middle of next week.  

Southerly winds will strengthen throughout today, with gusts of up to 110 kilometres per hour. 

It is set to be very wet across the west this afternoon with spot flooding and some severe southwest winds.

Intense rainfall is expected to spread across the country along with some thundery conditions tomorrow.  

A colder air will take hold tomorrow as the storm passes, bringing scattered wintry conditions at night. 

There will be an increased risk of snowfall into next week. Snow showers will possibly occur in any place nationwide, but will mainly be found in parts of the north and west. 

Advice 

Aer Lingus has advised all customers travelling tonight and tomorrow to check the status of their flight on the website before heading to the airport. Some flight delays and cancellations are possible due to the storm. 

In Dublin, the Fire Brigade has reminded people to secure things like trampolines, wheelie bins and garden furniture.

It also advised taking care on roads and streets, particularly around polling stations, as pedestrians may have their hoods up, cyclists can be affected by strong gusts and drivers could be distracted. 

Meanwhile, as the warnings begin to take hold, general election polls have been open nationwide since 7am this morning and will remain so until 10pm tonight. 

Storm Ciara (named by the UK Met Office) is the third named storm of the season, after storms Atiyah and Brendan.