Today

Extremely windy or stormy today with heavy thundery rain giving way to sunny spells and frequent squally showers, some of hail and thunder.

The winds at their strongest in the morning and early afternoon with some severe and damaging gusts.

Some localised flooding also.

Highest temperatures 9 to 11 degrees.

Tonight

Windy this evening and tonight with stormy conditions returning to some Atlantic coasts.

Much colder with showers turning wintry and giving falls of sleet and snow.

Some snow lying by morning especially over hills in the north and west.

Overnight lows of 1 to 3 degrees.

National weather warning

There is a status orange wind warning in place for Ireland.

On Sunday, Storm Ciara will produce very strong southwest winds with mean speeds of 65 to 80km/h and gusts generally up to 130km/h.

A combination of spring tides and high seas, as well as stormy conditions, will result in a significant risk of coastal flooding especially along western and northwestern coasts.

This alert is in place umtil midday.