Met Éireann issues immediate thunderstorm warning for five counties
Tomas Doherty
Met Éireann has issued an immediate alert for thunderstorms in five counties.
The national weather agency said lightning and spot flooding could impact parts of Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Laois and Offaly.
The alert will be in place until 8pm on Monday.
⚠️Status Yellow - Thunderstorm warning for Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Laois, Offaly⚠️
Scattered thunderstorms at times ⛈️
Possible impacts:
• Lightning
• Spot flooding
🗓️Valid: 13:05 Monday 19/05/2025 to 20:00 Monday 19/05/2025
ℹ️https://t.co/lvQFgW8DsS pic.twitter.com/pWsBvaiygH— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) May 19, 2025
The warning comes after a weekend of unbroken sunshine across Ireland and a prolonged dry spell, leaving water supplies in some areas “on a knife edge”.
Uisce Éireann said average water demand in the greater Dublin area has reached a record level of more than 630 million litres per day in recent weeks.
“This is close to the limit of what can be sustainably produced by our water treatment infrastructure,” the utility company said.
A water conservation order, commonly referred to as a hosepipe ban, has been in place for supplies in Mullingar, Co Westmeath; Milford, Co Donegal; and Kells-Oldcastle, Co Meath, since early May.
