A Status Yellow rain warning for counties in the southeast has been issued by Met Éireann.

The warning will apply to counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow and Waterford.

The warning will come into effect at 12:00p.m (noon) tomorrow (Thursday, August 27) and will remain in place until 3:00a.m on Friday (August 28).

Met Éireann said that these areas will see spells of heavy rain with the possibility of thunderstorms.

Potential impacts will include localised flooding and difficult travelling conditions.

Outdoor events are expected to be impacted.

Southeast

Some rain may be welcome in the southeast of the country, which has been heavily impacted by drought and exceptionally dry weather in recent weeks.

To help farmers cope with the impact of these recent conditions, fodder clinics will take place in the worst counties from today (Wednesday, August 26).

Teagasc has advised that the first clinics will be held in its offices in Portlaoise, Tullamore and Naas today.

Further clinics are also scheduled to take place in Teagasc offices in counties Carlow, Wicklow, Wexford, Kilkenny, Waterford, Tipperary, East Cork, Louth and Meath.

Last week the National Fodder and Food Security Committee (NFFSC) heard that one-in-five of farms surveyed by Teagasc have fewer than 100 days feed available.

Dr Joe Patton, head of Dairy Knowledge at Teagasc, also told the committee that overall 12% of farms in the country are currently 20% short of fodder.

This figure is based on a survey carried out by Teagasc of 396 dairy and drystock farms spread across regions.

Last week the president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA), Denis Drennan, warned that the fodder deficit was widening.

He told Agriland that the focus should now be on growing as much additional fodder as possible in Ireland over the next two months to help bridge the gap.

Speaking on his farm - where the "last meaningful rainfall" was on June 19, - Drennan said it was going to "take lot of rain" for his farm to recover.