Update: The warning has been upgraded to status orange for Galway, Clare, and north Tipperary.

The heat was always going to break at some point - and it seems as if we're on the cusp of it now. Following days of intense heat across Ireland - with some saying that the country may have seen its hottest day on record - the rain is coming, and it's coming hard. Met Éireann today issued a status yellow thunderstorm and rain warning for the entire country, as temperatures remain incredibly high. "Thunderstorms in places this afternoon & evening with lightning, hail & heavy downpours resulting in localised flooding & hazardous driving conditions," they said. https://twitter.com/MetEireann/status/1418547791035502597?s=20 They added that the counties most at risk of flooding and storms are Wicklow, Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Tipperary, Clare, Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. A status orange thunderstorm warning was later issued for Galway, Clare, and north Tipperary. This comes as the entire country was issued a yellow temperature warning this week, with some counties operating within an orange warning. The forecaster said: "High temperatures continuing this week with hot conditions by day and staying very warm and humid at night. "Daytime maximum temperatures generally 27 to 30 degrees Celsius with overnight values not falling below 17 to 20 degrees." The nationwide thunderstorm and rain warning is in place until 8pm tonight.