Laois, Offaly and Westmeath are under the warning for Storm Éowyn from 2am until 5 pm Friday.
Storm Éowyn may pose a danger to life.
Met Eireann has upgraded its advisory to Red for counties Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick while the Midlands remains under a Status Orange warning for now.
That means a risk to life, extremely dangerous travelling conditions, unsafe working conditions, widespread power outages, structural damage and wave overtopping.
The Orange wind warning comes into effect at 2am Friday morning until 5pm Friday evening with the potential for fallen trees, damage to power lines and power outages, structural damage and very difficult travelling conditions.
Carlow Weather's Alan O'Reilly says the storm could be as bad as Storm Ophelia in 2017: