Met Eireann issue second highest level of warning over ‘Storm Eva’

“Storm Eva is expected to track to the west and northwest of Ireland over the course of the day…”

The storm has been named Eva, Met Eireann has said, as there is an status orange wind warning in operation for counties Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal.

MET Eireann’s orange and yellow weather alerts will remain in place until midnight tomorrow.

Anyone travelling can also expect a Status Yellow wind warning in Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim, Roscommon, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be mainly dry and bright in many areas with sunny spells and well scattered showers. It will become colder in this evening, with temperatures dropping to between 3 and 6 degrees.

Despite the cold and wet, temperatures will reach highs of 10 degrees Celsius Christmas Day and rise to 14 degrees Celsius on St Stephen’s Day.

“Winds will worsen over the afternoon and evening, but Eva will be relatively quick passing over the country”.

Some areas are still recovering from Storm Desmond earlier this month, which damaged more than 5,000 homes, costing an estimated £500 million.

Minister of State Simon Harris visited families and businesses in Ballinasloe, Co Galway on Tuesday to discuss flood relief measures and other issues arising from the severe weather.

The warnings come as Westmeath County Council maintain flood defences and Limerick City Council urge the public to be cautious near the waterways during the Christmas period, with heavy rain and higher than average tides expected.