Met Éireann has issued weather warnings for the whole of Ireland as Storm Gerrit is expected to land this evening. 

The storm was named earlier this morning by the UK Met Office.

A status yellow rind and rain warning has been issued for the whole of the country.

Localised flooding and up to 50mm rainfall are expected.

#StormGerrit has been named by the UK Met office.

⚠️A yellow wind and rainfall warning is in place for Ireland⚠️
Details➡️https://t.co/Xg3aMJlyuS pic.twitter.com/TY3RjP0JPf

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 26, 2023

Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather is warning drivers to be extra careful on the roads.

“It certainly could make for some tricky travelling conditions late into the night and into the early hours of tomorrow morning,” he said.

“People will need to take care and there will likely be spot flooding on the roads by late tonight as well.”

Beginning in the south

The storm is expected to begin in the south of the country.

“It will be turning very windy and wet tonight with some very heavy falls of rain, especially in the south of the country with over 40 to 50 mm possible,” said Mr O'Reilly.

“This will lead to some localised spot flooding but it’s going to be a very wet night right across the country and some strong winds are associated with that also.”

Heavy rain

Mr O'Reilly said the storm is expected to make land later this evening.

“The heavy rain will move in, probably by 7pm this evening," he said.

“Then it will continue right through tonight and into the early hours of tomorrow morning.

“It will really be by tomorrow morning when we see the heavy rain moving.

“That will be followed by more heavy showers and unfortunately more heavy winds will be coming tomorrow, and tomorrow night especially.”

Main image: A woman holding an umbrella t during a sudden storm. Image: Stephen Hyde / Alamy Stock Photo