Met Éireann has extended its Status Yellow weather warning for thunderstorms today (Thursday, May 16) to more counties.
Earlier, the national forecaster issued the alert, which will be valid from 3:00p.m until 8:00p.m today, for Clare, Cork and Limerick.
This has now been expanded to counties Carlow; Cavan; Kildare; Kilkenny; Leitrim; Laois; Longford; Louth; Monaghan; Offaly; Roscommon; Tipperary; Waterford and Westmeath.
Areas covered by the warning can expect heavy downpours and falls of hail.
This may lead to spot flooding, poor visibility and hazardous driving conditions.
A separate Status Yellow rainfall warning has been issued for Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford which is due to remain in place until 6:00p.m today.
Met Éireann
Met Éireann has said that the showery conditions will continue over the coming week, with some thundery downpours possible, particulary in parts of Leinster and Munster.
Due to the nature of the showers, rainfall amounts are likely to vary quite considerably.
In general rainfall amounts are predicted to vary from around 44% to 160% of normal for this time of year.
Mean air temperatures for the coming week are expected to remain warmer than normal over the coming week, ranging from 11° to 14°C, which generally equates to 1 to 3° above normal.
The forecast shows that mean soil temperatures will also continue to be above normal.
Drying conditions will be moderate in the coming days due to the showers or longer periods of rain, but this will vary by location.
There will be some improvement over the weekend when mainly dry conditions expected for Saturday (May 18).
Conditions for spraying will be similar with better opportunities anticipated for the weekend.
Soil moisture deficits (SMDs) are generally ranging between 5 and 30mm, with the largest deficits being reported in the east of the country.
In parts of the southwest, well and moderately drained soils are currently saturated, while poorly drained soils are waterlogged.
Over the coming week SMDs across all soil types are expected to deteriorate.
Met Éireann has also reminded growers that a potato blight advisory is in effect until Friday (May 17).