Status Red and Status Orange warnings issued for multiple counties ahead of Storm Barra

Be very careful out there...

Met Éireann has issued Status Red and Status Orange weather warnings as Storm Barra draws closer to Ireland ahead of its arrival on Tuesday.

The storm, which has been described by the national forecaster as a "weather bomb", is expected to first materialise in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Issued on Monday afternoon, the Status Red wind warning concerns Cork and Kerry.

Southwesterly winds, later veering northwesterly, will reach mean speeds in excess of 80 kilometres per hour, with severe or damaging gusts in excess of 130 kilometres per hour.

Due to a combination of high waves, storm surge and high tide, coastal flooding is anticipated.

Disruption to both power and travel are also likely.

The warning is valid from 6am on Tuesday (7 December) and will remain in place until 9pm that night.

Meanwhile, separate Status Orange warnings have been issued by Met Éireann for multiple counties across the country.

The first warning refers to Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Mayo and Wexford and comes into effect from 6am on Tuesday, lasting until 6am on Wednesday.

In this instance, wind speeds are expected to reach mean speeds of 65 to 80 kilometres, with severe or damaging gusts of 100 to 130 kilometres per hour.

All other associated risks as detailed above also apply.

The second Status Orange warning concerns Dublin, Louth, Wicklow and east Meath.

This warning is in place from 8am on Tuesday until 1pm on Tuesday, with the exact same conditions as above expected.

Furthermore, a Status Yellow wind and rain warning will be in effect for the entire country from 2am on Tuesday until 6pm on Wednesday.

Speaking on Monday, Met Éireann's Head of Forecasting Evelyn Cusack warned of the "danger to life" that comes with the storm.

"We'd ask people to be very careful tomorrow and take preventative action today – tie everything down, take in furniture... but the storm is likely to hit the west coast just before 4am or 5am, certainly before dawn, and quickly extend across the country tomorrow morning," Cusack said on Today with Claire Byrne on RTÉ Radio 1 on Monday.

Cusack noted that the conditions could be "quite blizzardy" over Donegal, Sligo and the northwest for a few hours on Tuesday and told listeners to expect "a very bad morning" in general.

Of paramount importance to Met Éireann is to highlight the risks associated with Storm Barra.

"The fact is there's a storm crossing Ireland so it's going to be a very poor day tomorrow; quite dangerous conditions driving and also tomorrow night and certainly up to midday Wednesday," she said.

"What it means is that there is a danger to life, there is a risk of flooding – very heavy rain, up to 70 millimetres. As I mentioned, there will be some snow. It also is coinciding with high tides."

Cusack warned of "multiple hazards" that emergency services across the country are currently preparing for.