Wet, wild and windy – sunny spell gives way to gale-force gusts up to 110kmh

GALE-FORCE gusts and “wet and extremely windy” conditions are expected to hit the country in the coming days.

The famous ‘exam weather’ saw the country basking in temperatures hitting the mid-20s over recent weeks.

But Met Éireann has issued a status yellow wind warning for nine counties, coming into effect from 8pm and lasting until 10am tomorrow.

The warnings for Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon predict strong winds, with gusts of up to 110kmh.

Met Éireann’s Pat Clarke said our three weeks of summery weather are officially over.

“I’m afraid big changes are on the way,” he said. “Our three weeks of warm and summery weather have finally come to an end.

“Wet and extremely windy weather will sweep in over the country later tomorrow.”

Western and northern counties will experience the winds first, with rain extending across the country by this afternoon.

Last night, cloud cover started to increase in western areas ahead of the wild and wet weather.

“It will be a dry, bright start in the east with hazy sunshine,” Mr Clarke added.

“There will be rain developing in the west in the morning and this will extend across the country by the afternoon.

“It will become windy too as the day progresses. The winds will be gale-force and very gusty,” he continued. “It will be extremely windy and possibly stormy in places.”

Brighter

Tomorrow morning will start off with strong and gusty westerly winds and some rain in places.

But brighter, less windy conditions with some sunny spells and scattered showers will soon develop.

Top afternoon temperatures are expected to be14Cto18C.

Friday morning is set to be dry with sunny spells, especially in eastern areas. However, some showery rain on the west coast will begin to develop.

The weather for the weekend is also expected to be very changeable.