Thunderstorm alerts issued for much of the country

Muireann Duffy

Status yellow thunderstorm alerts have been issued for the majority of counties north and south of the Border.

Two separate warnings took effect from shortly before 5pm on Saturday.

The first, covering Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Tipperary and Waterford, will remain in place until 9pm on Saturday evening.

Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Wicklow are included in the second warning, which will also stay in effect until 9pm.

Met Éireann warned of localised thunderstorms in the effected counties, with the possibility of spot flooding and some disruption.

⚠️Status Yellow Thunderstorm Warning issued⚠️

Localised thunderstorms⛈️ with the possibility of spot flooding and some disruption.

Locations: Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Meath, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford and Westmeath

Valid: until 9pm

Full details⬇️https://t.co/ZsjQsKCXDy pic.twitter.com/gWf9ENCNIW

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) September 9, 2023

Two further alerts have been issued for Sunday, the earliest of which - from 6am to midnight - will cover Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Wexford, Wicklow, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford.

From midday to midnight on Sunday, Cavan, Monaghan, Clare, Galway, Leitrim, Roscommon, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly and Westmeath will be placed under a similar yellow thunderstorm alert.

The forecaster said there will again be a risk of localised thunderstorms, in addition to slow-moving heavy downpours "giving frequent lightning and surface water-flooding".

In the North, the UK Met Office will place the six counties under a yellow warning for thunderstorms from 2pm to midnight.