Met Éireann has issued weather warnings as Storm Bella is set to hit Ireland later today (Saturday).
The entire country is being placed under a status yellow rainfall warning from 12 pm today (Saturday, December 26th) until 3 am on Sunday.
“On Saturday (St Stephen’s Day), through the afternoon, evening and night, westerly winds associated with Storm Bella (named by UK Met Office) will reach mean speeds of 50 to 65km/h with gusts of 90 to 110km/h.”
“Winds will be higher in exposed areas of the west and southwest, especially tonight.”
“With the combination of strong winds, high waves and forecasted storm surge, there is a risk of coastal flooding along the west coast.”
Rainfall warning
Meanwhile, the national forecaster has issued a status yellow rainfall warning for Ireland.
The warning is valid from 3 pm this afternoon until 4 am tomorrow morning.
“On Saturday (St Stephen’s Day), through the late afternoon, evening and night, heavy rain associated with Storm Bella (named by the UK Met Office) will move southwards over Ireland and may cause localised flooding in some areas.”
Weather forecast
Widespread rain with heavy falls will bring a risk of spot flooding tonight. It will turn much colder with some showers set to turn wintry.
Temperatures will drop between 0 to 4 degrees with frost and ice to form.
Tomorrow
It will be cold and blustery tomorrow with some sunny spells and scattered showers. Some showers of sleet, snow or hail are expected, according to Met Éireann.
Showers will mainly affect the north and west during the morning. However, they will become more widespread through the afternoon. Longer and heavier spells of rain will develop in the west during the evening time.
Sunday night will see a band of showers move south-eastwards across the country, wintry at times. Largely dry and clear conditions overnight, while scattered showers will persist in the north-west and west. Temperatures will drop between -1 to +2 degrees.
Monday
It will be cold with widespread showers, possibly wintry on higher ground, with a risk of hail.
Temperatures will be in the region of 5 to 8 degrees before dropping between 0 to 4 degrees. It will be cold and blustery on Monday night with a mix of clear spells and scattered showers. According to Met Éireann, these showers will turn wintry on higher ground.
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