Temperatures may reach 30 degrees as hot weather warning remains in place

It is going to be another very warm day in many parts of the country with temperatures expected to reach up to 30 degrees in some areas. A status yellow high temperature warning for Leinster and Tipperary came into effect at 6am on Wednesday and will remain in place until 6am on Friday. Temperatures could reach up to 30 degrees in these areas on Thursday afternoon, Met Éireann said. The national forecaster said the potential impacts of the hot weather include water safety issues due to increased use of beaches, lakes and rivers; uncomfortable sleeping conditions; heat stress and animal welfare issues.READ MORENight time temperatures will not drop below 15 degrees in most areas.There could be some rain on Thursday, primarily in parts of Connacht and Ulster, including some scattered thunderstorms. It will be mainly dry in Munster and Leinster but showers are expected to move eastward in the evening, Met Éireann said. Highest temperatures will generally range from 23 to 30 degrees, hottest across the midlands and east, while temperatures will be closer to 20 degrees in coastal parts of the west and southwest.Friday will still be warm but not as hot, with highest temperatures set to range from 17 to 23 degrees.Uisce Éireann said a nationwide hosepipe ban could be extended if the hot weather continues. The ban is currently due to remain in place until August 26th.Margaret Attridge, head of water operations at Uisce Éireann, said the ban “could potentially be extended”.Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Drivetime programme on Tuesday, she said, although parts of the country such as the northwest had seen “some levels of rainfall in the last few weeks which has made that area more stable ... potentially, we could consider extending the water conservation order regionally”.Attridge said the organisation was “keeping everything under review” and “continuing to monitor all supplies across the country”. “Lifting [the ban] will be dependent on a number of factors – the weather forecast, the soil moisture deficit,” she explained.“The small bits of rain that are forecast in some areas of the country over the next few days isn’t going to do much to change the soil moisture deficit, so it won’t do much to recharge our lake and river sources.”