STATUS YELLOW WEATHER warnings will be in place for six counties in Ireland on Saturday, as Met Éireann warns of strong winds hitting the northwest over the weekend.

A Status Yellow wind warning for Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal wil kick in at 3am on Saturday, and will remain in place until 6pm Sunday.

The UK Met Office has also announced that yellow wind warnings will come into effect in Antrim, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry.

The organisation has warned of likely delays to road, rail, air, and ferry transport, as well as dangerous conditions around the coasts.

This has the potential to cause delays to public transport and some disruption to the road network, which may have a greater than usual impact given the busier pre-Christmas weekend travel.

Met Éireann has warned of large coastal waves, as sustained strong and gusty northwesterly winds will hit a number of Atlantic counties.

Strong westerly winds are expected to develop through the course of Saturday, with gusts of 50-60mph developing quite widely across this region, and a small chance of gusts reaching 70mph around some coasts and high ground areas.