Schools and creches across Cork will close for the duration of the Status Red Wind alert on Friday
The National Emergency Co-ordination Group made the announcement ahead of Storm Eoywn's arrival to Ireland.
Homeowners are being urged to prepare for power cuts ahead of Friday's storm
People are also being advised to have an emergency kit available and a fully charged mobile phone in their home
The storm will see winds gusting up to 180km/hr in places across North and West Cork and coastal flooding is also a risk
Cathal Nolan from Ireland's Weather Channel told RedFM News there could be a serious risk to life, dangerous travelling conditions and widespread power outages
"Cork is going to be one of the counties that's most affected by Storm Eoywn, and so we expect to see very strong winds developing late on Thursday night, but especially so through Friday morning, the early hours of Friday. It's at that point that we're likely to see winds in some parts of the county, especially West Cork and North Cork, approaching 180km/hr , a phenomenally strong storm, and it will cause quite a bit of destruction across the county"
