Preparations by local authorities were under way in the west, northwest and southwest of the country on Thursday night, before the arrival of Storm Amy, the first of the season to bring a status orange warning.
Met Éireann has issued a status orange wind warning for counties Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo, valid from 2pm to 10pm on Friday.
Additionally, a national yellow wind warning will be in place from midday on Friday to midnight on Saturday. Galway and Kerry are facing a yellow rain warning for Friday from 9am to 3pm.
The forecaster is warning of difficult travelling conditions and possible power outages.
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Local authorities across the north and west are bracing themselves before the storm. In Donegal, members of the Civil Defence have been laying sandbags at houses.
In Galway, despite heavy rain throughout Thursday, traffic has not been affected. Coastal car parks around the city are being closed until further notice by Galway council and officials are advising motorists to move their vehicles from the locations which regularly fall foul of flooding, particularly in Salthill.
Council crews are monitoring the situation on Thursday night and Friday and will shut roads if necessary. High tide in Salthill is expected at around 3.30pm on Friday.
Woodlands under council management will be closed on Friday and will reopen, pending inspections by staff, after the storm abates. Galway’s City Museum will also close early, at 1pm while Eastside Arts Festival events planned for Friday are cancelled.
Kerry County Council’s Director of Services for Community, Climate Action and Operational Services, John Kennelly, said a number of measures have been put in place before Storm Amy and crews are monitoring the situation.
Earlier on Thursday, Kerry was placed under an orange alert, with Met Éireann warning people there to expect flooding and very difficult travelling conditions until 8pm.
A lower, yellow-level warning was in force across the rest of Munster, Connacht, Donegal, Cavan and Longford. .
A status yellow thunderstorm warning, with a risk of possible lightning damage, was in place for Connacht until 2pm.
Forecaster Andrew Doran-Sherlock warned of “very difficult travelling conditions, the risk of fallen trees and damage to powerless and power outages” as the storm kicks in on Friday.
Storm Amy is the remnants of Hurricane Humberto, which rattled the Caribbean and east coast of the United States in recent days.
Temperatures during the storm are predicted to be a couple of degrees warmer than Thursday, with peaks of 16 to 19 degrees on Friday.
A Status Red marine warning has been issued for Friday from Loop Head to Rossan Point and Fair Head, as Met Éireann is warning that winds may reach violent storm force 11.
Saturday is expected to bring strong and gusty westerly winds, as well as heavy, showery rain that will travel in from the north. The day will gradually dry out somewhat, allowing for sunny spells to develop, the forecaster says. It will be a cooler day with highest temperatures of 12 to 15 degrees.
Several status yellow warnings for wind and rain are set to come into force on Sunday for counties Clare, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Leitrim, Louth, Mayo, Sligo and Wicklow.
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The forecast has already prompted Irish Rail to reschedule works on bridge and coastal defence which were dure along Dart lines this weekend.
The maintenance works between Dún Laoghaire and Greystones, which had been due on Saturday and Sunday, have been cancelled as high winds forecast in the area threaten to impact the safety of the proposed works due to the bridge lift involved, as well as work on exposed terrain on Bray Head.
As a result of the cancellation, full Dart and Dublin to Rosslare Europort services will now operate across the weekend. The works have been rescheduled to the weekend of November 1st and 2nd.
Other works scheduled across the rail network in other parts of the country are proceeding, however.
