Forecaster warns Red Weather Warning 'likely' as Storm Ellen tracks towards Ireland

A forecaster is warning that a Red Weather Warning is likely as Storm Ellen continues to deepen as it approaches Ireland.

Met Eireann has already upgraded Weather Warning to Orange for Clare, Galway, Mayo, Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Waterford with a Yellow Alert in place for the rest of the country.

According to Weather Alerts Ireland, those warnings could be upgraded to Red in some areas as violent winds are expected to make landfall on the south coast around midnight tonight before transferring countrywide for a time before easing during tomorrow morning.

The forecaster is predicting that weather warnings will update during the day with Status Red Weather Warnings likely across the south, southeast and south midlands.

The strongest winds associated with Storm Ellen will affect Cork, Waterford and Wexford where winds near coastal areas could well gust up to 185 km/h. Further inland across counties Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, Offaly, Kildare and Dublin winds may reach between 130-150 km/h for a time. Across the rest of the country winds will generally reach between 100-110 km/h. Such violent winds are likely to have significant consequences.

Read the full forecast below.