Met Éireann has issued a yellow wind warning for five counties along the western seaboard.
The warning has been issued for Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Clare. It is in place from 5pm on Friday until midday on Saturday.
Wind speeds are expected to gust at up to 100 km/h with a marine warning in place from Cork to Donegal.
Met Éireann forecaster Linda Hughes said winds are going to increase throughout the evening and into the early hours of the morning.
“It will be mainly a coastal event with strongest winds on the coasts of Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal,” she said.
“The strongest winds overnight will be in coastal areas of Galway and Mayo.”
The yellow wind warning will give rise to a windy day on Saturday with heavy rain in Connaught and Ulster. There will be drier weather across Leinster and Munster which is good news for those attending the Six Nations game between Ireland and Scotland at the Aviva Stadium.
On Saturday night there is a possibility of sleet or snow on high ground over most of the country which will experience rain on Saturday night.
On Sunday it will start out cold, but get milder as it goes on with afternoon temperatures of 7 to 12 degrees.
Monday and Tuesday will be cold with freezing temperatures on Monday night and squally showers on Tuesday.
High pressure is expected to dominate for Wednesday and Thursday which is good news for late canvassers.
However, long term forecast suggests unsettled conditions for Friday and polling day on Saturday.
“It looks like a mild enough flow. It look now like there will be wet and windy weather with temperatures of around average for the time of year,” she said.
