Storm Éowyn: Met Eireann forecast gale force winds and sleet for 26 counties

Met Éireann have forecast gale force winds and sleet for 26 counties, including Cavan and Monaghan, later this week.

On Thursday night and Friday, a deepening low-pressure system, Storm Éowyn, is forecast to track across Ireland.

Very strong to gale force winds are expected across the country with the potential for damaging wind gusts and disruption in places.

Transitory falls of sleet and snow are expected too, especially across west and northwest counties. High seas and spells of heavy rain are expected also.

Met Éireann is continuously monitoring the evolving situation and weather warnings will be issued as confidence in the forecast track/intensity of the Low-Pressure system improves.

Deputy Head of Forecasting, Liz Coleman, says:

“Storm Éowyn will bring wet and very windy conditions on Friday, especially in the west and northwest. The very strong southwest winds with damaging gusts will start to be felt late on Thursday and will cause dangerous travelling conditions on Friday, with the likelihood of trees down and potentially power outages. Wave overtopping is also expected at high tide. There could be localised flooding further into Saturday associated to the heavy rain and to the snow melt.

"Western and northwestern counties are likely to see status orange wind warnings as a minimum, but we are monitoring the situation closely and will issue warnings as Met Éireann’s high resolution model, which provides information two days ahead, comes into play. We are in close contact with the NDFEM and emergency management stakeholders and will provide timely updates as the situation progresses.

"There will be a short respite from the weather on Saturday as Éowyn moves away, but we are also watching a different low-pressure system, forecast to bring impactful winds and further rain on Sunday. However, in this case the situation is still too uncertain; we will provide updates as the week progresses.”

Check the met.ie for updates to forecasts and warnings in the coming days.