LAST UPDATE | 14 Aug 2022

A NATIONWIDE THUNDERSTORM warning has been upgraded to Orange, with Met Éireann forecasting heavy downpours of rain and hail in some parts of the country.

The warning comes into effect at 3pm today and is valid until 9am tomorrow.

The thunderstorm warning was previously Status Yellow. The Status Yellow high temperature warning remains valid for Munster, Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Galway and Roscommon until 6am tomorrow. 

Met Éireann says it’s to continue very warm or hot with temperatures generally of 27 to 30 degrees but cooler in coastal areas. 

Yesterday, temperatures topped 30 degrees for the third straight day.

The forecaster says that a Status Yellow thunderstorm warning will come into effect from noon today affecting all counties, including Northern Ireland. 

“As isolated showers and thunderstorms will develop throughout the day increasing in coverage from late afternoon, the most intense slow-moving deluges as will cause some spot flooding, intense lightning and possibly some hail at times,” Met Éireann has said. 

Looking forward to tomorrow,  scattered showers and thunderstorms will continue to affect southern half the country, becoming intense through the afternoon with an enhanced risk of flooding.

Tomorrow’s temperatures will return “closer to average” tomorrow, ranging from a cool 14 to 16 degrees in the northwest to 17 to 23 degrees elsewhere.

The UN’s IPCC has said that global warming has caused an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events.

The world has already warmed by about 1.1 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times largely due to human activity, and the IPCC has warned that global heating is virtually certain to pass 1.5 degrees, probably within a decade.

With reporting from Emer Moreau