Storm Ashley could buffet the west coast with winds speeds of up to 130 km/ph. 

It is the first named storm of the 2024/25 season and will arrive in Ireland on Saturday night and Sunday morning. 

On The Anton Savage Show, climate scientist Cathal Nolan said the storm is gaining strength as it heads east towards Ireland. 

“It’s currently in the middle of the Atlantic,” he said. 

“It’s a pretty benign area of low pressure at the moment but as it interacts with the jet stream as we go through to this afternoon, this evening and especially overnight, it is expected to deepen rapidly. 

“It goes through what we call meteorologically ‘explosive cyclogenesis’ where it drops by more than 24 millibars in a 24 hour period. 

“Then as we go into tomorrow, we’ll really start to feel its impact across the country.” 

Update⚠️
Status Yellow - Wind warning for Ireland

Storm Ashley will bring strong and gusty south to southwest winds, coupled with high spring tides.

Valid: 00:00 Sunday 20/10/2024 to 03:00 Monday 21/10/2024

More here https://t.co/t2JoveRUyC pic.twitter.com/BmtrOXFWPJ

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) October 19, 2024

Mr Nolan said there will be “very strong winds” with yellow and orange weather warnings in place. 

“They’ll probably reach their peak as we go through the afternoon and evening - especially so in the west and north-west,” he said. 

“Predominantly, the strongest of the winds are going to be from around about Clare up to Galway, Mayo, Sligo and then into Donegal.

“There are status orange weather warnings in place in Galway and Mayo at the moment. 

“They could well be extended to other areas along that west and north-west coast with winds potentially getting up as high as 130 km/ph.” 

A windy day in Dublin. Photo SamBoal/Photocall Ireland

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan has predicted climate change will mean more extreme weather in Ireland and Mr Nolan agreed more storms are likely. 

“What we’re likely to see with climate change in our neck of the woods is we will see an increase in the individual severity of storms,” he said. 

“However, overall, we can’t decide for a specific trend in terms of the frequency of storms.”

Main image: A women struggles with her umbrella in the rain and wind in Dublin. Picture by: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland