Today

Cold, very windy and wintry today.

Some frost in places at first Sunny spells and occasional heavy squally rain, hail, sleet or snow showers especially across western and northern counties.

Some thundery downpours also and local flooding.

Strong to gale force westerly winds with severe and damaging gusts at times especially in exposed coastal regions of the west and north - and with very high seas pounding the coast the danger of coastal flooding continues especially around high tides.

Afternoon highs of 3 to 5 degrees Celsius and feeling bitterly cold

Tonight

Cold and very windy tonight with further showers of hail, sleet and snow with some accumulations in places especially across western and northern counties.

Overnight temperatures around zero with frost and icy patches in spite of the strong wind.

National weather warnings

A status orange wind warning is in place for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare and Kerry.

Storm Ciara will continue to produce very strong westerly winds in coastal areas, with mean speeds of 65-80km/h and gusts generally between 110 and 130km/h.

A status yellow wind warning is in place for the entire country.

Met Éireann says Storm Ciara will continue to produce very strong west to southwest winds over Ireland with mean speeds of 50-65km/h, and gusts generally of between 90 and 110km/h, higher in Atlantic coastal areas.

A combination of spring tides and high seas will result in a significant risk of coastal flooding.

And a status yellow snow/ice warning is also in effect.

There will be widespread wintry showers on Monday and Tuesday, with some snowfall accumulations - especially in the west and north.

Some disruption to travel is also possible, particularly over higher routes.