Weather warning as winds set to batter the country

A warning to people living in exposed areas to take precautions has been issued by Met Éireann.

The status yellow warning comes as winds are set to batter the country tonight, especially along exposed coasts and higher ground.

Winds veering northwest later today will reach up to 90 km/h, Met Éireann said.

While bright spells are currently evident in Dublin and elsewhere the national forecaster said it will become very wet and windy this evening and tonight.

Tomorrow is also expected to be extremely windy and very showery with strong to gale force northwesterly winds and some severe squally in places.

The heavy showers will begin to ease off during the afternoon and winds will ease a little, but it will still stay very windy until nightfall.

The Met Éireann warning comes after Hurricane Gonzalo wreaked havoc across the Caribbean.

Hurricane Gonzalo last week caused widespread damage and a power blackout when it hit Bermuda.

The storm’s centre crossed over Bermuda late on Friday and Gonzalo quickly moved northward over the Atlantic.

A white haze covered the island as wind uprooted trees and waves slammed into the shore. Strong winds damaged part of the roof at Bermuda’s main hospital and caused water damage in the new intensive care unit, police spokesman Dwayne Caines said.

Gonzalo approached Bermuda as a Category 3 storm, then weakened to Category 2 strength just before coming ashore with sustained winds of 180km/h.

Even after beginning to move away, its fierce winds battered the island for hours.

Gonzalo earlier claimed one life in the Dutch territory of St Maarten.

Additional reporting from Agencies