A thunderstorm and hail warning has been issued for Friday evening as Met Éireann said the heatwave will be followed in short order by heavy downpours, lightning and the possibility of localised flooding.
A status yellow weather warning applies to nine counties most at risk are Wicklow, Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Tipperary, Clare, Galway, Mayo and Roscommon althoughGalway, Clare and north Tipperary were subject to an status orange warnig for a portion of the late afternoon, early evening on Friday.
Status yellow is the lowest of three weather warnings and advises people to take preventative action. The Road Safety Authority has warned of the potential for dangerous driving conditions this evening.
Separately the UK Met Office has issued an amber warning for “extreme heat” across Northern Ireland on Friday.
The amber alert warns of a threat to health due to the high temperatures.
A status yellow temperature warning remains in place in the Republic until Saturday morning with daytime maximum temperatures of between 27 to 30 degrees and overnight values not falling below 15 to 19 degrees forecast.
According to Met Éireann, at 2pm on Friday it was 29 degrees at Mount Dillion in Co Roscommon and at Newport in Co Mayo.
Check the temperature where you are.
It will however be slightly cooler in east Leinster and south Munster today with highs of 24 to 26 degrees, due to a moderate easterly breeze, forecast.
Friday night is expected to be warm and humid with temperatures as high as 19 degrees.
While lower temperatures are expected from Saturday, it is still expected to be bright and sunny in many area.
Met Éireann said Saturday will be a mainly dry day with sunshine for most, though it will be hazier in the east. Isolated showers will develop in Munster and Connacht later in the day. Highest temperatures of 23 to 27 degrees generally, slightly fresher along the east coast in a light to moderate northeasterly breeze.
The outlook for the coming days is for conditions to remain very warm for the rest of the weekend with lots of dry weather.
Saturday night will bring mostly dry and good clear spells in temperatures generally not below 13 degrees in light and variable breezes.
Sunday will see Sunny spells with some scattered showers developing in the afternoon. Staying warm with highest temperatures of 22 to 26 degrees, but feeling a little more refreshing in light to moderate northerly breezes.
Largely dry and clear overnight with just a few showers in northwestern coastal areas. A mild night with temperatures generally holding above 14 degrees.
It is expected to be less humid on Monday. There will be a fair amount of cloud around with the best of the sunshine in the south and southeast. Highest temperatures typically ranging 19 to 23 degrees, warmest in the southeast. There will be light to moderate northeast breezes. The showers will become isolated on Monday night with clear spells developing. Overnight lows of 12 to 15 degrees.
The RSA has warned the conditions could be very dangerous on the roads as hail and rain on very dry surfaces pose a hazard for drivers.
It said during a prolonged dry spell a build-up of oil and rubber deposit develops on roads and when the weather breaks, this deposit mixes with rainwater and the road becomes greasy and hazardous.
Drivers and motorcycle riders in particular can get caught out with this change in road conditions so the advice is to slow down and increase braking distance.
