A red-level weather warning has been issued for counties Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick with Met Éireann saying Storm Éowyn could bring life-threatening conditions.
The red warning is expected to be extended later this morning to other counties on the western seaboard and possibly even further inland.
The high winds will be accompanied by heavy rain with a status yellow weather warning in place for Cork, Kerry and Waterford on Friday morning.
The forecaster had earlier issued an orange-level weather warning for the whole State, which comes into force at 2am on Friday, but quickly upgraded it to a red warning for the four counties.
Storm Éowyn: Met Éireann warns of ‘damaging and dangerous winds’ with red warning alert expected to be extended
Ireland weather: What to expect from Storm Éowyn as Met Éireann warns of gale force winds and possible snow
LA fires lay bare the spectre of an uninsurable future
Temperatures to remain well above normal for the weekend
The status red warning, which denotes a threat to life to those out in the storm, will come into effect at 3am on Friday and runs until 10am in the four counties mentioned.
The Harmonie weather model is showing gusts of 190 km/h around the Co Kerry coast at 5am on Friday, with the Dingle peninsula to be hardest hit. Inland parts of Cork and Kerry will see winds of 150 km/h, it predicts.
Very strong winds of up 150 km/h will be experienced in the midlands by 7am as Storm Éowyn crosses the country.
Met Éireann forecaster Michelle Dillon said the force of the winds expected are “highly unusual” in Ireland and red wind warnings are relatively rare.
“We will see damaging, dangerous winds as the storm moves up along the country. It will also extend inland. Anywhere is at risk,” she told RTÉ radio 1′s Claire Byrne Show.
“We expect the red warning to be extended further up along with the west coast. These winds are a danger to life. We need to stay indoors and also prepare for the event. People need to tie down loose structures and batten down the hatches.”
Met Éireann is forecasting the possibility of fallen trees, damage to power lines and power outages from 2am on Friday until 5pm on Friday for the whole State. The orange warning for 22 counties also refers to difficult travelling conditions, with disruption and cancellation to transport.
A status orange marine warning has also been issued for all coasts of Ireland on the Irish Sea.
Storm Éowyn has the potential to be a very strong storm with heavy rain across the country and sleet and snow especially across west and northwest counties, says Met Éireann.
The centre of Storm Éowyn will track just off the northwest coast on Friday morning with a swathe of extremely strong and damaging winds extending across the country and bringing disruption.
Gale-force southwest winds over land are forecast to veer westerly by afternoon with storm-force winds likely in some coastal areas.
Showers will turn increasingly wintry as the day progresses, with maximum afternoon temperatures of six to nine degrees but feeling much colder due to the wind-chill factor, according to Met Éireann.
On Friday night, winds will begin to abate but it will stay rather blustery. It will be followed by cold night with clear spells and scattered showers, some wintry. Lowest temperatures of -2 to +3 degrees are expected, with some frost possible towards dawn on Saturday as winds continue to ease.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
