A Status Orange rain warning has come into effect for seven counties, as Storm Betty is forecast to bring heavy rain and strong winds as it sweeps across the island.
Irish forecaster Met Eireann has upgraded its Status Orange rain warning for seven counties, which has now come into effect for Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Cork, Tipperary and Waterford.
The alert is in place until 11pm on Friday.
The forecaster has warned that the weather conditions could lead to localised flooding, difficult travelling conditions and wave overtopping along coasts.
Met Éireann have named #StormBetty
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) August 18, 2023
This is the second named storm of this August and is likely to bring very strong winds , and some heavy downpours ️⛈️⤵️https://t.co/Xg3aMJlyuS pic.twitter.com/9dukghoO04
A Status Orange wind warning for the same seven counties comes into effect from 9pm on Friday until 3am on Saturday, with severe gusts of up to 130 km/hr and possible coastal flooding expected.
This could lead to structural damage, falling trees, travel disruption, power outages, and localised flooding, according to Met Eireann.
Three Status Yellow warnings for wind and rain are in place for the rest of the country from Friday afternoon, and which will remain in place until 3-6am on Saturday.
The stormy weather brings the risk of thundery downpours on Friday, as well as strong winds along eastern-facing coasts.
Met Eireann forecaster Matthew Martin said that the deeply low weather system would bring “heavy and persistent rain” spreading from the south of the island on Friday afternoon, and there would be a continuing threat of flooding in the evening.
In Northern Ireland, a status yellow rain warning is in place across the region from 9pm on Friday until 6am on Saturday, risking further disruption.
The Met Office has also issued a wind warning for counties Antrim and Down, in place from 6pm on Friday until noon on Saturday, which brings a risk of strong winds that could disrupt transport and temporary infrastructure.
The weather is expected to stay mixed for the rest of the weekend.