'Unseasonably' windy weather as Met Éireann puts entire country on alert

Status yellow wind warnings are in effect for the Republic on Saturday morning, with "unseasonably strong" gusts forecast.

Met Éireann said southern and western coasts and high ground will face the strongest winds.

The forecaster said there is a risk of falling branches and damage to tents and other temporary structures.

Unseasonably windy countrywide Saturday morning/ early afternoon, and especially near Atlantic coasts, with outbreaks of rain🌬️🌧️

Breezy with sunny spells to follow🌬️🌥️

A little fresher for the rest of the weekend with sunshine & scattered heavy or thundery showers on Sunday⛈️ pic.twitter.com/xHTpl5UnzA

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) July 7, 2023

The status yellow warning for Munster, as well as counties Carlow, Kilkenny and Wexford, will expire at 10am, with the rest of the country under the alert until midday.

Met Éireann said it will turn mostly dry with sunny spells by Saturday afternoon as the winds ease, with highest temperatures of 18 to 22 degrees.

Overnight on Saturday rain will begin to feed up from the south. The showers will turn heavy as the night goes on potentially merging to longer spells of rain at times with the chance of the odd rumble of thunder. However, it will stay mainly dry in Ulster, Met Éireann said.

Sunday will bring a mix of sunny spells and showers. Some of the showers will be heavy and slow-moving, with thundery downpours and hail. Temperatures will reach highs of 17 to 21 degrees, according to Met Éireann.

The weather is set to continue largely unsettled into next week.