Weather set to improve after heavy rain, thunder and lightning overnight

Significant delays reported on M50 after a number of incidents in wake of heavy rain

Running for cover in Dublin city centre during Wednesday's storm. Photograph: Alan Betson / The Irish Times

There will be plenty of dry weather on Thursday, Met Éireann has said, following heavy rainfall, thunder and lightning overnight.

Bright and sunny spells will develop throughout the day with a few showers while highest temperatures will be between 15 to 18 degrees.

A status orange thunderstorm warning had been in place for eastern counties until the early hours of this morning while a yellow warning was issued for the entire country.

There were delays on the M50 on Thursday morning, with a collision reported at junction 16 Cherrywood southbound. Breakdowns were also reported between Blanchardstown and Lucan southbound and between Ballymun and Finglas southbound.

READ MORE

Dublin Fire Brigade said it responded to localised flooding in the north of the city on Wednesday. “If you are worried about flooding on your property you can help by removing leaves from any drains,” it said.

Local authorities, particularly in the east of the country, said their crews were working on Wednesday night to deal with spot flooding.

Flooding reported as ‘very intense’ rain hits east of countryOpens in new window ]

Mist will affect some southern and eastern coasts and hills in moderate southeast breezes on Thursday while persistent rain will develop in the southwest later this evening.

Rain will spread across Munster early on Thursday, extending to most of the country later in the night. Some northwestern areas will hold dry with lowest temperatures between 10 to 13 degrees.

Met Éireann said it will be breezy on Friday with showers and longer spells of rain. There will be dry spells and occasional bright spells also. Highest temperatures will be between 14 to 17 degrees with fresh and gusty southeast winds.

There will be showers on Saturday, especially across Connacht and Ulster where some will be heavy and prolonged. Across Leinster and Munster there will be long dry spells along with some sunshine.

It will be mostly cloudy and damp on Sunday with showery outbreaks of rain, some heavy downpours are possible, especially in the east of the country. Highest temperatures will be between 13 to 16 degrees.

Sarah Burns

Sarah Burns

Sarah Burns is a reporter for The Irish Times