Torrential rain and thunderstorms bring flooding with more to come

Parts of the midlands and east have seen torrential rain as thunderstorms crossed the country this afternoon.

More than 18.4mm of rain fell in one hour at the Mullingar weather station followed by 16.5mm in the following hour.

The low pressure that is bringing the bad weather is circling around Ireland and will feed in more heavy thunderstorms. There were reports of surface water on roads in North Dublin including the M1 and of floodingin Skerries and Swords.

A further status yellow thunderstorm warning is in place for 24 hours on Friday from 9am to 9am on Saturday.

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Thunderstorm activity with the risk of hail, coupled with longer spells of rain over Kerry, Limerick, Clare and Tipperary, will lead to localised flooding and hazardous driving conditions.

The weather will continue to be blustery overnight, with heavy rain in the northern parts of the country. Munster and south Leinster will see a drier night that the rest of the country, the forecaster has said.

Lowest temperatures will be between 11 and 14 degrees, with fresh westerly winds turning to stronger gusts at times.

Friday will see the thundery showers turning to longer spells of rain in the north and west, which will mean a continued risk of spot flooding in those areas.

Rainfall will be more isolated in Munster and counties in the south of Leinster for most of the day, until the evening.

The unsettled weather and rain showers will continue over the coming weekend, with long showers of rain forecast for Friday night.

Saturday will be a breezy day with widespread showers in the north and east of the country, with some isolated thunderstorms returning, and with them a risk of flooding in parts.

The southwest will be brighter, with only some lighter showers. The rain will shift over to Ulster and counties along the Atlantic coast on Saturday night.

Met Éireann has said Sunday will possibly see further thunderstorms, with rainfall heaviest over the northern half of the country.

There will be drier and sunnier conditions elsewhere, with highest temperatures of between 15 to 19 degrees.

Rain showers should become more isolated, and confined to the coasts over Sunday night.

The outlook for Monday is for a mix of rain and sunny spells, while Tuesday is forecast to be a much drier day, ahead of a return of the unsettled weather in the middle of next week.

There is a slight chance of a return to more normal conditions next week, but there is uncertainty over the forecast.