New Year's Day weather: Status yellow wind warning for some counties

A status yellow wind warning has been issued for the West from 10 o'clock this morning.

The affected counties are Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare and Kerry.

Gusts between 90 and 110 kilometres per hour are expected along coastal areas today. Winds will have average speeds of between 50 and 60 kms per hour.

The warning is in place until 4pm today.

Yellow warnings mean people should be careful in affected areas. Met Éireann explains: "They indicate weather conditions that do not pose an immediate threat to the general population, but only to those exposed to risk by nature of their location and/or activity."

Elsewhere in the country, today will be bright and cold with blustery northwesterly winds. Showers will continue, mostly over the west and north of the country. Highs of 7C to 8C.

Tonight will be dry with the winds easing and frost forming for a time. But the winds will freshen from the south through the night and rain will spread to all parts of the country later in the night. Lows of 2C to 4C.