Yellow weather warning issued for Northern Ireland with forecast of thunderstorms

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms across Northern Ireland on Thursday, 14 August 2025, with the potential for heavy downpours, surface water flooding, hail and lightning.

The warning is in place from 00:00 to 22:00, covering the early hours through to late evening. Forecasters caution that while not all areas will be affected, some locations could experience intense rainfall within short periods.

According to the Met Office:

“Whilst not all areas will be affected, heavy showers and thunderstorms may develop in places during the early hours of Thursday and into Thursday morning, perhaps merging into some larger areas of rain.

“Where heavy downpours occur, 20-40 mm of rain could accumulate in less than an hour, bringing the risk of some surface water flooding. Hail and lightning will be additional hazards.”

The unsettled conditions are expected to extend into Thursday afternoon and evening, with further scattered heavy showers and thunderstorms likely to develop. These will particularly impact central and eastern Scotland, but slow-moving systems could still bring isolated accumulations of 40-60 mm in an hour in parts of Northern Ireland.

The Met Office added that these conditions could increase the likelihood of travel disruption, difficult driving conditions, and localised flooding in vulnerable areas. Showers are expected to slowly ease by mid-to-late evening.