The yellow alert for high temperatures kicks in for 12 counties at lunchtime today and lasts until Sunday morning

Met Éireann says the hot weather will lead to uncomfortable sleeping conditions, animal welfare issues, heat stress and dehydration, especially for the vulnerable and elderly, and water safety issues.

It will be mainly dry this week but some thunderstorms could occur later in the week and over the weekend.

Six weather stations broke their all-time maximum temperature records during the month of June.

Galway, Mayo and Roscommon are no longer under the alert from now.

It will be dry with good sunshine on Thursday, but thunderstorms may develop at times in the west and northwest.

Thursday is set to be the hottest day of the week in Ireland with temperatures up to 31C in parts.

The outlook into the weekend projected showers or some longer outbreaks of rain on Friday and Saturday.

It comes as parts of Europe face another day of an unprecedented heatwave, which has already smashed records in many countries

Met Éireann said daytime temperatures will exceed 25C with temperatures possibly reaching 30C on Thursday.

The warning comes into place at 12pm on Tuesday and will end at 9am on Friday

Met Éireann says temperatures are set to be between the mid to high 20s for most of the week, with Thursday set to be a hot, humid day that could rise to 30 degrees in places.

Temperatures are set to rise on Monday, but are not expected to reach the record-breaking highs seen in May.

The warning begins at 9 pm and ends on 9am on Friday.

The warning comes into place at 6pm and lasts until midnight for Cork, while Waterford's will last from 9pm until 3am on Saturday.

The warning has been in place since 1:52 on Wednesday and is in place until 4 pm.

The thunderstorm warnings bring an end to a record-breaking hot spell across the country over the last few days.

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Murphy said that the weather over the weekend will be “typical Irish weather”, which would mean a mix of sunshine, clouds and some rain.

Temperatures above 29C were recorded in provisional data on Tuesday.

Killarney and Clonmel automatic climate stations recorded 28.8C at about 3pm on Monday.

Warm weather is forecast throughout Ireland over the weekend, with the highest temperatures expected in Leinster.

Met Éireann has said temperatures could rise to 22 degrees over the weekend, with sunny weather to continue into next week.

The warning comes into effect from 3am until 6 pm.

The warm weather is set to continue on Monday, mostly dry with sunny spells improving as the day goes on.

Ireland is one of the driest places in Europe right now, and is set to be hotter than parts of the Canaries.

Cork and Kerry are under a status yellow warning for wind, rain and thunderstorms.

Met Éireann has said that there will be spells of heavy rain in the south of the country, with potential impacts including localised flooding and difficult travelling conditions.

In short, the weather is expected to be generally quite mixed, with sunny spells and hail and sleet alike forecast in the national outlook for the next few days.

ESB Networks crews are mobilised across the country to restore electricity to those impacted.

The warning will come into effect at 3pm on Saturday and stay in place until midnight.

A warning will be in place for Clare, Mayo, Kerry, Galway, and Limerick from 5 pm on Tuesday until midnight.

Yellow wind and rain warnings will come into force on Thursday.

The wind warning will come into place at midnight and will last until 6 pm on Thursday.

While the east gets the rain, sunny spells will gradually develop across western counties throughout Thursday.

Met Éireann have warned that spells of heavy rain could lead to localised flooding, poor visibility and hazardous travelling conditions.

There is a risk of flooding ‘across the country’, according to the Government’s emergency planners.

A status yellow wind warning has been issued for Wexford, Wicklow, Dublin, Meath, and Louth.

Met Éireann said rain falling on already saturated ground combined with high river levels will lead to flooding

One person blasted Met Éireann for their failure to predict heavy showers. “No rain forecast for Donabate [in Dublin] and all my washing is soaked,” they said.

Connacht, as well as counties Cavan, Donegal, and Longford, will be under a status yellow rain warning from 12pm until midnight on Sunday.

Some roads leading to Dublin Airport were closed and several apartment block basements in north Dublin were flooded overnight.

Flooding is reported in a number of areas of north Dublin

Met Éireann issued a yellow rain warning for Dublin and Wicklow.