Met Éireann has issued a status yellow wind warning for counties Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Galway and Mayo, cautioning it will become “increasingly windy with very strong and very gusty westerly winds”.
The warning comes into effect from 5pm on Tuesday and is in place until midnight. Some fallen trees and branches, difficult travel, large coastal waves and potentially damaging gusts are expected.
There is also a status yellow gale warning from Howth Head to Mizen Head to Bloody Foreland and on the Irish Sea south of the Isle of Man. West to northwest winds are expected to reach gale force 8 or strong gale force 9 between 2pm on Tuesday and 5am on Wednesday.
A third yellow warning for small crafts was issued for all coasts of Ireland, with west to northwest winds expected to reach force 6 or higher between 3pm on Tuesday and midnight on Thursday.
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In general, the weather is expected to be mixed. On Tuesday afternoon, sunny spells are expected to develop but heavy showers are likely to spread from the west, with the chance of hail and isolated thunderstorms.
Tuesday night is forecast to remain windy with fresh to strong west to northwest winds. Very strong gusts are expected in Atlantic coastal counties and widespread heavy showers look set to continue, falling as hail or sleet, with snow possible on high ground.
Lowest night-time temperatures of 0 to 4 degrees are forecast, with frost and icy stretches possible.
Wednesday is forecast to be cool and blustery, with any frost and icy patches clearing through the morning.
A mix of sunny spells and showers will continue to spread from the northwest on Wednesday, with further wintry falls possible on higher ground.
During the evening, the showers will become more isolated, with highest temperatures of 5 to 9 degrees forecast, Met Éireann said.
The week is set to end with mixed conditions, with rain on Thursday giving way to brighter, showery conditions on Friday and Saturday and isolated wintry showers possible.
Cloud will thicken from the west early on Thursday with patchy light rain and drizzle spreading southeastwards across the country through the day, Met Éireann said.
The rain will turn more persistent in the west and northwest later in the evening, with more persistent rain spreading overnight. There will be a clearance to isolated showers by morning.
On Friday, rain will clear to the southeast early in the morning, with sunny spells and isolated showers following from the northwest. Some showers may turn to hail or sleet later, and it’s expected to be breezy with moderate to fresh west to northwest winds and highest temperatures of 8 to 11 degrees.
The weekend is due to be bright and blustery with sunny spells and scattered showers.
It will remain mixed throughout the weekend and early next week, with occasional outbreaks of rain, though long dry spells will occur also, Met Éireann said.
