Very heavy rain is being forecast for much of the country tonight, with a yellow rainfall warning in place for 16 counties.

The warning covers Connacht, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Cavan, Monaghan, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary.

Up to 35mm of rain is expected, which may turn to snow in places.

Met Éireann is warning of possible spot flooding in places due to the heavy rain.

Updated Warning: Status Yellow rainfall warning issued for Connacht, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Cavan, Monaghan, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary.

Valid from 21:00 hours Fri, 15-Mar-2019 to 12:00 hours Sat, 16-Mar-2019 pic.twitter.com/t1Na5ccawr

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) March 15, 2019

The status yellow weather warning comes in to effect at 9pm tonight, and is valid until midday tomorrow.

Carlow Weather's Alan O'Reilly explained: "It's going to be a very wet night tonight, especially in western areas.

"The winds will also increase later tonight, with some very strong winds especially in the southern half of the country."

Snow-ice warning

Separately, a snow-ice warning for Donegal comes into effect from midnight.

According to Met Éireann, heavy rain will turn to snow on Friday night and early Saturday morning.

It's expected to lead to poor driving conditions, while snow accumulations are likely to be greater on high ground.

That status yellow warning is valid until midday tomorrow.

Met Éireann's currently forecast that Sunday (St Patrick's Day) will be a cold and blustery day with sunny spells and passing showers.

Main image: File photo. Picture by: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie