A series of weather warnings have been issued ahead of Storm Ciarán as parts of the country have already been hit by flooding.
There was major disruption caused in parts of the country on Tuesday, with severe flooding seen in Newry, Co Down.
A section of the M1 between Dublin and Belfast was also impacted by surface water, causing major delays on the route, while rail services between the two cities were cancelled on Tuesday morning due to flooding between Portadown and Newry.
Meanwhile in Co Louth, a bridge near Riverstown partially collapsed amid rising waters on the Cooley Peninsula.
Met Éireann has issued a number of weather alerts for both wind and rain for the coming days.
The first such warning, a yellow warning for rain, took effect for Kerry at midday on Tuesday.
Later, Northern Ireland will be covered by a similar warning issued by the UK Met Office, lasting from 9pm on Tuesday to 9am on Wednesday.
#StormCiarán has been named by the UK Met Office. It will track to the south of Ireland on Wednesday into Thursday. 🌧️ 🌬️ ⚠️ https://t.co/qdHdzDv3To
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) October 29, 2023
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The alerts will become more far-reaching on Wednesday as Storm Ciarán makes landfall in Ireland.
Galway, Clare and Kerry will be covered by a yellow wind alert from 5am to 11am, while Cork, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wicklow and Wexford will be placed under a yellow rain alert from 7pm on Wednesday to 7am on Thursday.
The forecaster warned that flooding is likely over the coming days "as soils are saturated and river levels are high", with the heaviest downpours expected in southern and eastern coastal counties.
In a general advisory for the entire country, which will remain in place until Thursday night, Met Éireann warned weather conditions will lead to poor visibility and dangerous driving conditions.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has echoed these warnings, urging road users to take extra caution over the coming days.
