Galway is bracing for extremely heavy winds as Storm Atiyah tracks across Ireland this afternoon, with the worst expected on the west coast.
A Status Orange weather warning for gale force winds has been issued for Galway and eight other counties along the Atlantic Coast, one of four warning issued for Storm Atiyah.
This warning will be in place from 1pm today, with Met Eireann forecasting sustained winds of 65-80km/hr and gusts reaching up to 130km/hr, possibly stronger in coastal areas.
The orange warning for Galway will until 6am on Monday morning. Due to a combination of high seas and storm surge there is a possibility of coastal flooding.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service has closed all multiple parks in the west today as a precaution, including Connemara National Park, Knockma Wood near Tuam, and Derryclare Nature Reserve in Connemara.
A total of five weather warnings have been issued by Met Eireann for today as Storm Atiyah tracks down between Iceland and Ireland, though the storm will not actually hit Ireland.
Met Eireann just this morning issued a Status Red wind warning for Kerry with gusts over over 130km/hr expected this evening.
A Status Yellow wind warning covering Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Roscommon, Tipperary, and Waterford will also be in place from 1pm today to 6am tomorrow.
A separate status yellow wind warning for the whole country will remain in place until 1pm on Monday, while a rainfall warning for Donegal will be in place from 6pm this evening until the same time on Monday.
A Status Orange Gale Warning has also been issued for coastal waters off the west coast, with winds forecast to reach Violent Storm Force 11 on Sunday afternoon.
This evening will see slight less troubled seas, but average winds will still be in the region of Gale Force 8 to 9 this evening, possible reaching Storm Force 10 at times.
These strong winds veer from westerly to northwesterly this evening and will continue into Monday morning, moving over towards the Irish Sea.
