Warning for the most part when Storm Lillian hits Ireland

A number of weather warnings are in place as Storm Lillian hits Ireland.

Met Éireann said a status yellow rain alert had been issued for eight counties, with heavy rain likely to cause localized flooding and difficult travel conditions.

The warning for Clare, Galway, Roscommon, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly and Westmeath came into force at 10pm and will last until 4am.

A separate status yellow wind warning is in effect for Munster, Wexford, Wicklow, Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois, Kildare and Dublin from midnight until 6am tomorrow.

Forecasters said unseasonably strong and gusty winds from south to southwest, west to northwest, and very high tides are expected to cause continued risk of coastal flooding.

Potential impacts of the wind include downed trees, coastal flooding, wave overtopping and power outages.

A separate status yellow wind and rain warning was lifted for Galway and Mayo at 2.30am after the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto reached the west coast.

Lillian, which was named by the UK Met Office, is the 12th named storm of the current season, which ends on 31 August.

Storm names were first introduced by Met Erin and the Met Office in 2015.

They were joined in 2019 by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI).

The last storm to hit Ireland was Kathleen on 6 April, which brought winds of up to 85 km/h to parts of the country.

Storm Isha, which occurred on 21 January, was classified as a 'violent gale' with gusts of 137km/h recorded at Mace Head in Co Galway.

Isha was followed two days later by Storm Jocelyn, with gusts of 122 km/h recorded at Mace Head.

Storm Lillian has forecast strong winds and heavy rain in parts of the UK.