Previous weather warnings have been upgraded to status orange for southern and north-western coasts as storm Deirdre crosses the country during the day.

From 3pm until the end of the day, winds will reach mean speeds of 65km/h with gusts of 110km/h generally, and up to 120km/h in southern coastsal counties and in Co Donegal.

In the rest of the country, west to northwest winds are set to increase later in the afternoon and evening, with top gusts of 110km/h forecast, leading to a status yellow warning.

Rain warning

Rainfall is also forecast to reach 30mm to 50mm this Saturday, with more in mountainous areas.

In Northern Ireland, the Met Office has issued a status yellow wind and rain warning for counties Down and Armagh, and the eastern parts of counties Derry, Tyrone and Antrim from 6am to 6pm. Wind gusts of 50mph to 60mph are expected, with 30mm to 50mm of rainfall in six to 12 hours.

Several thousand customers were without electricity on Saturday evening, according to ESB Networks, most of them in counties Cork and Waterford.

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Letter: a weather survey request