Storm Gerrit: Status orange wind warning issued for five counties

By David Young, PA

A status orange wind warning has been issued for five counties in Ireland, amid warnings of dangerous travelling conditions during Storm Gerrit.

The warning covering Clare, Cork, Kerry, Waterford and Wexford came into effect at 5pm and will be in place throughout Wednesday, lifting at midnight.

An earlier orange warning for Galway has been lifted.

Met Éireann said the five counties would see strong and very gusty westerly winds.

The national forecaster said power outages and severe disruption were likely.

It warned of “dangerous travelling conditions” and the likelihood of coastal flooding.

A status yellow warning for wind and rain is in operation for the rest of the country until midnight on Wednesday.

Very strong and gusty south-westerly winds are forecast.

Met Éireann said the strong winds combined with spring tides may lead to coastal flooding in places covered by the yellow warning.

It said squally showers, with a chance of thunderstorms, could also see localised flooding elsewhere.

In Northern Ireland, a Met Office yellow wind and rain warning covering the entire region came into effect at 2am on Wednesday and lifted at 10am.

There were reports of localised floods in several areas in the region, with many roads closed as a consequence.