New weather warning issued for thunderstorms and heavy rain

Met Éireann has issued a new weather warning for thunderstorms and heavy rain in large parts of the country.

The yellow warning is for the counties of Cavan, Monaghan, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Galway and Roscommon. A similar warning has been issued for the counties of Northern Ireland by the UK met office.

The warning is valid from midday to 10pm on Monday.

Thunderstorms over the weekend brought a deluge of rain to parts of Co Kerry with Tralee the worst affected place. University Hospital Kerry’s cardiology outpatient department remained closed on Monday and the public were being asked to stay away from the emergency department unless absolutely necessary.

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After a dry morning, showers will build across the country leading to thunderstorms and heavy rain throughout Monday afternoon and evening.

It will remain warmer than normal for the rest of the week though the weather will be more mixed than of late. Temperatures will reach a high of 24 degrees on Thursday and all places can expect a shower over the coming days.

“It is going to stay fairly warm. It’s not going to be cold by any means, but we are not heading into a dry week either,” said Met Éireann forecaster Aoife Kealy. “We are talking about high teens or low 20s. It will be a degree or more higher than average, but they are not unreasonable temperatures.”

She said more rain should “take the edge” off the dry soil though most places in the country still have soil moisture deficits because of the prolonged drought which ended last week.

It has been a much warmer than usual June, especially along the western seaboard. The average temperature at Shannon Airport this month is 17.8 degrees, more than three degrees higher than the monthly average which is 14.5 degrees. Similarly, Valentia Observatory in Co Kerry is averaging 16.5 degrees for the month, that’s nearly three degrees higher than the 13.6 degrees average.