Donegal coastLiam Moloney Flickr
Irish weather will turn stormy as Storm Erik will bring wind gusts of up to 80 mp/h (130km/h) to the west coast from Friday.
Ireland’s national meteorological service, Met Éireann, has issued an Orange wind warning for counties Galway and Mayo warning of "severe and damaging" gales.
It warned of high seas and coastal flooding, with highest winds expected in exposed coastal areas.
#StormErik has been named by @MetEireann for the area of low pressure arriving on Friday. Impacts will be greatest across Ireland though warnings are in force across parts of the UK – Stay #weatheraware pic.twitter.com/ca1VqXoQ6G
— Met Office (@metoffice) February 7, 2019
The warning is valid from midnight tonight EST (5 am GMT) until 8 am EST (1 pm GMT) tomorrow afternoon.
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An Orange wind warning is also in place for Co Donegal, valid from 4 am EST (9 am GMT) Friday until 1 am EST (6 am GMT) on Saturday.
Wind Warnings issued for Storm Erik
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) February 7, 2019
Status Orange: for Donegal, Galway & Mayo.
Gusts to 130 km/h
Status Yellow: for all areas
Gusts to 110 km/h
Valid from Friday 5am (Validity times vary).https://t.co/ozrQHtoOkt #StormErik pic.twitter.com/5H6TVe57QZ
A Status Yellow wind warning has been issued for the rest of the country, with gusts of up to 70 mp/h (110km/h) expected.
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Storm Erik is the fifth named storm of the season by Met Éireann.
The Road Safety Authority of Ireland is asking road users to exercise caution tomorrow, warning them to "expect the unexpected."