ALERT: Met Éireann extends status orange warning to EVERY county as Storm Darragh approaches

As Storm Darragh bears down on Ireland, Met Eireann has issued status orange wind warnings for EVERY county.

The forecaster has upgraded its earlier warnings and says the storm is set to bring heavy rain and strong winds to all counties late on Friday night into the early hours of Saturday.

Local authorities across the country have placed crews on standby and motorists are being urged not to drive while the warnings are in place.

The first of the status orange warnings - for Munster and Connacht - will come into effect at 8pm while the second - for Leinster, Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan - will come into effect at 10pm.

The status orange warnings will remain valid for all counties until 9am on Saturday.

Met Éireann says potential impacts of the storm include fallen trees, damage to power lines, difficult travelling conditions, damage to temporary structures and wave overtopping along the coast.

READ ALSO: LIVE: Track Storm Darragh as it travels towards Ireland amid severe weather warnings

A separate status yellow rain warning for several counties - Clare, Connacht, Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Longford, Louth, Meath -  Westmeath - comes into effect from 10am while a status wind warning for all of Ireland will be valid from 3pm.