Status red wind warnings have been issued for counties Clare, Cork and Kerry as Storm Barra approaches Ireland.
The warnings will be valid from 6am until 9pm on Tuesday for Cork and Kerry, and from 4pm until 1am for Clare.
Status red is the highest level weather warning issued by Met Éireann, with people in affected areas urged to stay indoors and to take action to "protect themselves and their properties".
Met Éireann says: "Southwesterly winds later veering northwesterly will reach mean speeds in excess of 80 km/h with severe or damaging gusts in excess of 130km/h.
"Due to a combination of high waves, storm surge and high tide, coastal flooding is expected. Disruption to power and travel are likely."
A status orange wind warning comes into effect at 6am for 24 hours across Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Mayo and Wexford.
A separate status orange warning has been issued for Dublin, Louth, Wicklow and east Meath - valid from 8am on Tuesday until 1pm.
#StormBarra will bring disruptive weather to Ireland on Tuesday and Wednesday, with impacts from severe, damaging winds as well as heavy rain. #Wind and #rain warnings are in place across Ireland ⚠️🍃☔️
Read more in our #StormBarra news story 📰ℹ️ https://t.co/jZZxcE5Nup pic.twitter.com/dVL6MasdRA— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 6, 2021
A status yellow will be in effect for the rest of the country between 2am on Tuesday and 6pm on Wednesday.
There's a warning of possible disruption to power and travel in all areas, as well as flooding, high waves and storm surge in coastal areas.
Crisis management teams have been meeting today to prepare for the storm.
The National Emergency Co-Ordination Group is due to meet this afternoon to discuss the storm.
Keith Leonard, National Director for Fire and Emergency Management, says people in areas covered by status red warnings should 'shelter in place' before it comes into effect.
He said: "Stay at home or in place, and don't go back outside until the red level warning expires."
Evelyn Cusack, head of forecasting at Met Éireann, earlier said they're expecting a "pretty intense storm" to hit Ireland tomorrow.
She said: "As well as the very strong winds there will be driving rain and showers and hail and sleet - and even some snow mixed it.
"So it really is a multi-faceted, high complex storm system".
