BELFAST is being battered with strong winds and heavy rain with the arrival of Storm Barra.

The south-west of the country is expected to face the brunt of the storm. Met Éireann has reported that counties Kerry, Cork and Clare can expect to face winds of up to 130km/h. 

In the North a yellow alert level has been issued with some flights and ferry connections cancelled with winds strongest on the Antrim and Down coastline.

The yellow alert is to stay in place until 9am tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.

At Stormont this morning the Christmas tree was snapped in two after being tossed back and forth by the strong winds.