Bank holiday weather: Heavy rain, sunny spells and possible thunder forecast for weekend

Some sunny spells, rain showers and thundery downpours should be expected over the coming days, according to Met Éireann.

The national forecaster also said there would be “unsettled” weather on bank holiday Monday, followed by the likelihood of more rain for Halloween.

Met Éireann meteorologist Liz Walsh said it would “definitely” be a good idea to wear waterproofs if going out trick-or-treating.

For most people in the Greater Dublin Area, Thursday got off to a bright and sunny start but Ms Walsh said an early downpour over Co Mayo saw 25mm of rainfall on Delphi in a single hour.

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As the bands of rain move over the country, some of the showers are expected to be heavy with the chance of isolated thunderstorms and possibly more flooding.

A small-craft warning for Force 6 winds or higher is in place for all coasts until 1pm on Thursday. Highest temperatures on Thursday are expected to be 11 to 14 degrees in a light to moderate south to southwest wind.

Friday is set to begin with mist and fog and develop into another wet day with further widespread and heavy, possibly thundery, showers. Highest temperatures are again expected to be between 11 to 14 degrees, with moderate southeasterly winds, fresher along south and east coasts.

The indications at this stage are that Saturday and Sunday will bring more showers.

In terms of the outlook for Monday and Tuesday, Ms Walsh said “we are still going to have low pressure, so the chances are there will be showers”.

According to Ms Walsh the main driver of the current weather spell is a low pressure system that typically brings bands of showers or longer spells of rain. But she said although there was a “high confidence of showers” the timing and location of those showers was less certain.

She advices anyone playing trick-or-treat to check the Met Éireann home page which gives a radar view of rain clouds in real time, which can be checked against location.

Current indications suggest that the unsettled conditions will continue through the coming week.