A stormy start to the week.

Following on from Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice last week, Storm Franklin is making its presence felt in Ireland. Approximately 29,000 homes and businesses are without power on Monday morning (21 February), according to ESB Networks, with Sligo and Donegal most affected by outages. A Status Yellow weather warning for the whole country remains in place until 9am on Monday, with very strong winds and damaging gusts in play. Coastal flooding is also a possibility. Though that warning is set to expire imminently, Met Éireann has issued a separate Status Yellow warning. This warning concerns two counties – Wexford and Wicklow. Per the national forecaster, Storm Franklin will continue, bringing strong winds and severe gusts to both counties. The warning is valid from 9am on Monday and will remain in place until midday. Meanwhile, the UK Met Office has issued a Status Yellow weather warning for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry. In this case, strong winds are expected to cause disruption. This warning is valid until 1pm on Monday. Beyond today, sub-zero temperatures and snow are expected later in the week. https://twitter.com/MetEireann/status/1495639867182751746 Wednesday night will see Ireland hit by very cold conditions, with sleet and snow anticipated along with the chance of isolated thunderstorms and some hail. Temperatures will range between -2 and +1, allowing for frost and icy stretches. Thursday looks quite similar, with a chilly day on the horizon amid sunny spells and scattered blustery showers that will bring hail, sleet and snow on higher ground.