Batten down the hatches! Storms Dudley and Eunice are set to hit Ireland

Met Éireann has released an alert warning people of two storms set to hit Ireland this week. 

Ireland's meteorological service says Storm Dudley will bring strong winds of around 80-110km/h to mainly northern and western areas of the country on Wednesday, with Storm Eunice bringing widespread winds, spells of heavy rain and possibly snow on Friday. 

Yellow wind warnings are in place for Clare, Donegal, Galway and Mayo on Wednesday, with an orange warning issued for Donegal as gusts could reach around 130km/h along exposed coasts. 

Friday will bring disruptive weather with official weather warnings expected to be issued in the coming days. 

Met Éireann meteorologist, Emer Flood, commented on the upcoming storms and said, "It’s been a fairly quiet year so far but that’s all going to change this week as an active jet stream steers several low-pressure systems across Ireland and the UK.

"On Wednesday Storm Dudley will bring strong winds to mainly northern and western areas, these strong winds in combination with high tides will lead to large coastal waves and some coastal flooding." 

Emer continued: "As Storm Dudley clears eastwards on Thursday morning winds will ease for a time, before picking up again on Friday morning as Storm Eunice approaches. We’re keeping a close eye on this storm as there is the potential for more widespread strong winds across Ireland which may lead to some disruption and damage. Along with strong winds, Eunice is expected to bring spells of heavy rain and potentially some snow." 

Met Éireann is advising the public to keep "a close eye" on the forecast as the week progresses. 

The storms were named by Met Éireann's forecasting partner in the UK the Met Office.