Met Eireann has issued its second most severe weather warning, a status orange, to 10 counties as high winds, rain, sleet and snow are forecast to continue into the weekend.

Winds in excess of 110kmh (68mph) battered large parts of the western seaboard over the past number of days. The storm-force conditions are being driven by an area of pressure from Iceland.

More than 1,000 homes were left without power following the storms, with ESB crews working to restore power. Donegal, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Clare are the worst affected.

Met Eireann predicts the cold and wet conditions will continue over the coming days with temperatures set to dip to as low as -4ºC on Friday night. This is likely to bring more snow and sleet to higher areas on Thursday night into Friday.

While the severe winds are expected to ease after that, wind and rain is forecast to be consistent over the weekend. Early indications are that next week is looking like being much milder with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 12 degrees.