MET ÉIREANN HAS issued a Status Yellow rain warning for the country on Thursday ahead of the arrival of Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season. 

The warning for the 26 counties will be in place from 7pm on Thursday until 8am on Friday, with Met Éireann warning of the potential for heavy rain and localised flooding. 

The UK’s Met Office confirmed the naming of the storm this morning, saying Storm Austen is forecast to bring strong winds to parts of southern England on Friday.

Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Tom Crabtree said: “While the exact track and position of Storm Austen is still being determined, what’s clear is that we have an impactful period of weather on the way and the potential for disruption in places, which has resulted in the system being named. ”

❗️Storm Austen has been named by the UK Met Office. A low pressure system moving towards the UK and south of Ireland on Thursday will bring a spell of strong winds and rain.☔️🍃 ⚠️Warnings issued: https://t.co/7aDQTqTyEp https://t.co/elpqkzK1Jt

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) October 20, 2026

Met Éireann’s forecast for Ireland is for strong and gusty northwesterly winds overnight on Thursday but no wind warning is currently in place. 

“A low pressure system moving towards the UK and south of Ireland on Thursday will bring a spell of strong winds and rain,” the forecaster said, adding:

“Heavy rain associated with Storm Austen will spread eastwards across the country.”

Separately, a Status Yellow rain warning is in place for Dublin and Wicklow tomorrow morning from 1am to 8am due to an expected spell of heavy rain.