Killykeen on a frosty morning. Photo: Patrick Sheridan

Strong winds today amid weather warning

Weather update from Met Éireann

The public are being advised to look out for fallen trees and expect power outages and travel disruption amid a 'status yellow' wind warning for the whole country.

Westerly winds will be very strong and gusty today, in the west at first, progressing eastwards in the afternoon, reaching storm force at coastal areas of the northwest.

The warning came into effect at 5am this morning and will remain in place until 2am in the early hours of tomorrow morning (Friday).

The latest weather bulletin also says there will be a mix of sunny spells and showers, frequent and prolonged across Ulster with a chance of isolated thunderstorms and hail. Afternoon temperatures of 7 or 8 degrees.

The showers will continue through tonight. Lowest temperatures of 3 to 6 degrees with fresh to strong westerly winds.

Tomorrow, Friday, showers in the morning will ease and there'll be sunshine for a time in the afternoon. Fresh and gusty westerly winds will ease in the afternoon too. Afternoon temperatures of 7 to 9 degrees. It'll be wet again by Friday evening.

A wet night Friday night as rain from the southwest spreads to all areas. Scattered showers will follow the clearance overnight. Becoming windy as fresh to strong southwesterly winds develop. Temperatures will fall to between 2 and 5 degrees as the rain clears towards morning.

A windy Saturday with fresh to strong and gusty westerly winds bringing scattered showers, frequent in the west and north, and sunny spells. Highest temperatures of 3 to 6 degrees with temperatures dropping to near or below freezing Saturday night.

Breezy and cold on Sunday with showers on coasts and sunny spells inland. Temperatures of just 3 to 6 degrees in the afternoon and well below freezing on Sunday night.

Currently Monday looks like starting out dry with showers on western coasts giving way to widespread rain later as winds strengthen once again. It'll be another very cold day.

The cold unsettled spell will continue into midweek.