The tens of thousands of people set to descend on Stradbally for the Electric Picnic music festival this weekend have been warned to prepare for potentially heavy rain.
Some 70,000 people are expected to attend the three-day festival in Co Laois, which returns for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Conal Ruth, meteorologist with Met Éireann said the weather for the weekend was looking like it would be “unsettled”. It was likely there would be “some fairly wet weather on the way”, with blustery winds and temperatures in the mid to high teens, he said.
While it was too early to be certain until closer to the weekend, festival-goers should prepare for the “potential for quite a bit of rain”, Mr Ruth said. The advice to those heading to Electric Picnic would be to pack rain gear, he said.
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The latest weather forecast from Met Éireann warns outbreaks of rain will push across from the west of the country from Friday afternoon onwards. Leinster is expected to see a mix of showers and sunny spells, with some rain expected on Friday evening and into the night. The national forecaster said temperatures are due to be between 17 and 22 degrees.
The early outlook for the weekend is for further rainfall, which may be heavy at times in some parts of the country.
Artists Dermot Kennedy, Tame Impala and Arctic Monkeys are headlining the music festival, which will take place from Friday to Sunday and see thousands of people camping on the 600-acre site at Stradbally.
Tiarnán Dunne, marketing manager at the Outdoor Adventure Store in Dublin city centre, said the camping and hiking equipment shop had seen a surge in demand for rain gear ahead of the festival. “There has definitely been an uptick in the last-minute rush for ponchos and light rain gear.”
He said demand for camping gear such as tents and camping chairs would be similar to previous “spikes” ahead of large outdoor festivals.
