The Shannonside Northern Sound region is getting ready to be hit by high winds and heavy persistent rain for a number of hours tonight as Storm Barra passes over the north-west.
A status orange wind warning will come into effect in Leitrim at 8pm tonight for a period of 12 hours while a red wind warning is now in effect in County Clare, along with Cork and Kerry.
Gusts in excess of 130 km per hour have been recorded in the south west and householders are being urged to stay indoors with electricity outages likely.
Vincent Dwyer is Leitrim County Council's Director of Services with responsibility for Emergency Services.
He has this advice for anyone who may come across fallen power lines or trees tonight or tomorrow morning.
Meteorologist with Met Eireann Andrew Doran Sherlock is warning people in the north west of the country that winds are due to increase quickly in the region this evening.
He says winds are expected to be strong across Leitirm from early this evening and are expected to be at their strongest around 8 o' clock tonight.
He adds that windy conditions and heavy rain are due to move slowly over the region overnight, and will run well into tomorrow as well.
