The storm hit overnight.
Thousands of homes in Cork and Kerry have been left without power as Storm Eunice hit the country overnight with heavy rain and gusts of more than 130km/h in some places.
ESB Networks have said that 2,166 customers in Cahirsiveen in Kerry have experienced power cuts while 1,193 in Glengarriff in Cork have seen the same.
ESB crews are now working to restore power in these areas while outages have also been reported in Waterford, Donegal, Offaly, Wexford, Mayo, and Roscommon.
Met Eireann has since extended a Status Yellow snow and ice warning for the entire country until 10am tomorrow with sleet and snow expected today and tomorrow and accumulations of ice in some areas which may lead to hazardous driving conditions.
The chair of the National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) said the storm will be of high impact and bring coastal flooding, damaging winds and blizzard conditions.
Hourly weather reports from our 25 synoptic stations can be viewed here ⬇️https://t.co/MvCx72KIaT pic.twitter.com/0OJjrQrwJJ
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) February 18, 2022
Keith Leonard urged people to stay indoors if they are in a Status Red area and the rest of the country to hold off on any journeys until the storm has passed.
Cork, Kerry and Clare are under a status red wind warning until 8am on Friday, with Waterford also under it from 7am.
Flood protection barriers have been put in place in some areas and sandbags have been distributed in coastal areas.
Bus Eireann has suspended their Waterford services until 1pm, with banks closed until then also as well as some retailers.
A Status Orange snow warning is in place for Donegal, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon until 3pm with universities, schools and childcare facilities advised to close in the nine worst hit counties.
Some bridges and roads were also closed last night as Storm Eunice arrived, with the N25 New Ross bypass and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy bridge in Co Wexford and the Longfields bridge near Mallow in Co Cork both shutting.
Part of the M8 Cork to Dublin motorway has also been closed off until 9am.
Flights and ferry services have also been affected with Aer Lingus cancelling a number of flights from Cork and Dublin to the UK and the Netherlands.
Anyone travelling by air or sea is advised to check ahead of time as ferries to the UK, France and Spain from Rosslare have been affected.
