Met Éireann has issued a status orange wind warning for counties along the west coast, where winds could reach speeds of up to 120km per hour on Thursday.
This evening will be mostly mild with showers confined to the west and northwest. Fresh to strong winds are expected before becoming stronger overnight.
Status orange is the second most severe warning level and is explained by Met Éireann as “weather conditions which have the capacity to impact significantly on people in the affected areas”.
Coastal areas in counties Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo are due to be the worst affected.
There is also a status yellow wind warning for Munster, Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan and Roscommon where winds could reach 100km per hour.
All warnings come into effect on Thursday morning and are due to last until Friday morning.
Rain will be widespread and heavy on Thursday, moving eastwards as the day goes on with highest temperatures between 12 and 14 degrees.
Donegal could see hail and wintry showers on hills and mountains on Thursday.
'Storm Abigail', the first weather event named by the public in a newly adopted approach by Ireland and UK, is expected to land later in the week but will mainly affect the UK.
Last month Met Éireann and the UK Met Office announced the results of a ‘name our storms’ pilot project allowing the public to christen forthcoming storms, an approach familiar in other countries.
