Met Éireann has issued a Status Yellow thunderstorm warning for the coming hours in 12 counties in the eastern half of the country.
The national forecaster said that there is a “moderate chance” of isolated thunderstorms this afternoon and evening (Sunday, May 26) in Leinster.
The warning currently applies to counties Carlow; Dublin; Kildare; Kilkenny; Laois; Longford; Louth; Meath; Offaly; Westmeath; Wexford, and Wicklow.
The thunderstorms will result in localised flooding, poor visibility and difficult driving conditions.
The alert is set to remain in place until 8:00p.m today.
Met Éireann
The forecast for the coming days shows changeable conditions with showers at times across the country.
There will be rain in north Leinster and Ulster today which will become confined to north Ulster later.
This will be followed by sunshine and showers moving in from the south, some of the showers will be heavy with a chance of lightening, especially over Leinster.
Highest afternoon temperatures of 13° to 16°C in light to moderate west to southwest breezes.
There will be some clear spells tonight, but rain and drizzle will develop in the west and southwest and extend to Munster and Connacht during the night. Lowest temperatures of 5° to 9° with light to moderate southwesterly winds.
Tomorrow morning will be cloudy with rain, drizzle and mist. During the afternoon some sunny spells will develop along with scattered showers. Highest temperatures of 14° to 17° in moderate south to southwest breezes.
Met Éireann said that the early part of the coming week will be unsettled, but it will become drier as the week progresses.
Average rainfall will be close to or below average for most areas, with the majority of this rainfall falling in the first half of the week.
It will remain warmer than average over the coming week with mean air temperatures of 1 or 2° above normal. Mean soil temperatures will also remain well above normal.
In the early part of the coming week, increased rainfall will lead to a slight deterioration in soil conditions.
However, drier conditions by the end of the week will lead to little change in soil conditions with soil moisture deficits (SMDs) generally between 5 and 35mm.