Storm Hannah to bring gales and heavy rain

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After a warm and settled Easter, we’re heading for a much more unsettled end to the week.

Storm Hannah, named by Irish forecaster Met Éireann, moves in on Friday night bringing gales and some heavy rain.

Areas affected are expected be to the south and west of Northern Ireland, parts of the Republic, south Wales and southwest England.

Wind gusts in those areas could reach 80mph (130km/h) on exposed coastal stretches.

Met Éireann has issued Status Orange warnings – the second highest level – for four counties in the south west, Clare, Cork, Kerry, and Limerick.

Another 16 counties have been issued with yellow warnings ahead of the storm.

Much of Wales and Central and Southern parts of England will also be in the firing line with the Met Office warning of wind gusts reaching 60-70mph on exposed coastal stretches and 45-55mph inland from Friday evening into Saturday afternoon.

Some disruption is likely with delays to transport and the possibility of short term power cuts from fallen branches or trees.

Large waves and spray also likely to affect some coastal routes.

Disruption to road, rail, air and ferry transport are likely, with bus and train services affected.

There are no warnings currently in place for Northern Ireland.

Nevertheless, we will get a very wet spell with some heavy rain at times from this evening into tomorrow morning which could lead to surface water flooding in places.

Winds will also become strong and blustery from the northwest later tonight into Saturday with gale force gusts of 50-55mph as the storm moves east across Wales and central England.

The heavier rain should clear on Saturday morning with the afternoon slowly becoming drier and brighter from the west but it’ll remain blustery and will feel quite cold in the wind too.