Weather warnings issued in Northern Ireland and Republic

There has been some disruption to transport and sport in Northern Ireland due to heavy rain and high winds.

The Met Office issued two separate weather warnings for strong winds and heavy rainfall.

The rain warning, covering counties Antrim, Down, Londonderry and Tyrone, ended at 19:00 GMT.

A wind warning, covering counties Fermanagh, Tyrone, Armagh and Down, ended at 23:45.

Winds of up to 90kmh/h (55mph) were expected, with gusts up to120km/h (75mph) along Irish Sea coasts.

In the Republic of Ireland, orange and yellow warnings for wind were issued as Met Éireann said Storm Elin would bring strong gusts.

Orange warnings for wind were in place for counties Donegal, Dublin and Wicklow at various times from late morning to early evening.

All other counties except Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Waterford were subject to yellow warnings for wind.

In Northern Ireland it was forecast that a band of heavy rain could cause localised flooding, as well as longer journey times.

Up to 30mm (1.2in) of rain was widely expected, with up to 55mm expected over the hills.

There are a number of road closures and diversions in place due to the weather - including the Antrim Coast Road at Glenarm, which was closed due to flooding and a landslide.

There was also disruption on the A2 dual carriageway between Belfast and Bangor near the Culloden Hotel due to a fallen tree but this has since been cleared.

Fallen trees have also been reported in Downpatrick and near Glynn in County Antrim.

At Castle Ward, near Strangford, the Christmas village was cancelled due to the weather, but is scheduled to reopen on Sunday.

A number of NIFL Championship matches scheduled for Saturday were called off following pitch inspections.

The strong winds and rain will eventually ease down overnight but more unsettled weather will follow on Sunday.

It will not be as windy as Saturday but will become breezy or gusty in places with another band of persistent and locally heavy rain moving through during the morning.

A brighter, drier gap will follow into Sunday afternoon but more showery and at times heavy rain will move in again later.

The Met Office is advising people to keep a close watch on weather updates and to take proactive measures to ensure safety.

More bad weather is forecast for the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, with Met Éireann naming another storm - Storm Fergus.

It is set to bring very strong winds, high waves and heavy rain to parts of the island.

An orange warning has been issued for counties Clare, Galway, and Mayo from 15:00 to 20:00.

Yellow warnings have been issued for another 15 counties.

This is the earliest in the season that a storm beginning with the letter F has been named.

The previous earliest was Storm Frank on the 29-30 of December 2015.

Although no warnings have been issued for Northern Ireland, at times it will still be windy with outbreaks of rain.