Met Éireann has announced two wind warnings that will affect eight counties over the weekend.

The national forecaster has issued two yellow weather warnings that will bring “sustained strong and gusty westerly winds” veering north-westerly coupled with large coastal waves.

The first warning will affect Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, and Sligo and will come into effect from 3am on Saturday, 21 December and run until 2pm on Sunday afternoon.

The second yellow warning will start at 3pm on Saturday, running for 24 hours and affect Clare, Kerry, and Limerick.

Met Éireann has said that the affected regions will see “winds peaking on Saturday night into Sunday morning”.

Yellow warning

Yellow wind warnings do not pose a threat to the general population but are potentially dangerous on a localised scale.

Widespread mean speeds between 55 and 65km/h and gusts between 90 and 110km/h can be expected during the warning.

Met Éireann has warned of potential impacts such as wave overtopping and/or spray, difficult travelling conditions especially near the coast and some fallen trees.