A yellow thunderstorm warning has been extended to seven counties, Clare Kilkenny, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Waterford and Wexford. The warning is valid until 8pm.
Earlier, Met Éireann had warned of the potential of severe lightning and hail damage in Cork. The forecaster had issued an orange thunderstorm warning for the county from 2pm to 4pm today.
A status yellow high temperature warning was in place for counties Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Galway, Kilkenny, Laois and Offaly until 6pm.
The thunderstorms have resulted from record-breaking May temperatures with Shannon Airport recording a high on Tuesday of 30.6 degrees, the first time that a value of more than 30 degrees has ever been recorded in Ireland during the month.
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Wednesday was another hot day, with Valentia Island in Co Kerry recording its highest May temperature since records began of 29.6 degrees. Shannon Airport’s highest value was 29.0 degrees and 28.4 degrees was recorded in Belmullet, Co Mayo.
Thursday will still be warm, but notably cooler than of late with highest temperatures of between 17 and 24 degrees.
The best of the bank holiday sunshine will be in the east of the country with temperatures of between 17 and 22 to 23 degrees in Dublin on Friday, as the Bloom festival gets under way in the Phoenix Park.
Saturday will see rain spreading eastward over the country through the morning and afternoon, turning heavy at times, especially in the north later in the day with the chance of isolated thunderstorms. Highest temperatures of 22 degrees will be experienced in the east again and a similar pattern will prevail for Sunday.
Bank Holiday Monday will see a cloudy start with showery outbreaks of rain, turning heavy at times. The pattern into next week will see more unsettled conditions and temperatures more normal for the time of year.
Met Éireann forecaster Gerry Murphy predicted temperatures will begin to cool in the coming days.
“Over the next 24 hours the airflow will change gradually so our weather will once again, as normal, come more from the west as we go towards the end of the week, and that will mean that there will be a drop in temperature, with levels dropping to normal May levels for the bank holiday weekend of high teens and low twenties, he said.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland, Murphy said the weather over the weekend will be “typical Irish weather” which would mean a mix of sunshine, clouds and some rain.”
Murphy added that it was not unusual to have “a decent spell of weather” in the month of May – but it was unusual for it to be so hot so early in the summer.
Met Éireann has warned of water safety issues because of the increased use of lakes and beaches during the hot spell, the possibility of forest fires and uncomfortable sleeping conditions as well as heat stress.
Linda Jean Byrne, RNLI water safety lead, told Morning Ireland that while temperatures on land may be high, water temperatures are still very cold.
“It hasn’t had time to heat up as yet. So while we might be very, very hot today, when we hit that water, there’s a very good chance of cold water shock hitting us if we hit the water too quickly,” she said.
Byrne advised anyone who gets into difficulty to “float to live” which is to stay calm and fight any instinct to thrash around. The best thing to do is to float, try to relax and try to breathe slowly.
“Once you’ve regained control of your breathing, you can call for help by raising your hand, raising one of your hands while you’re still floating with the other hand and call for help.”
For anyone witnessing an incident where someone was in difficulty, the first thing they should do was phone 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard, before attempting any rescue themselves, said Byrne. – additional reporting PA
