Grab a Thunder Buddy - Risk of very active thunderstorms Sunday and early next week
The forecast from Sunday onwards look rather interesting well for a forecaster that is and for anyone with a interest in weather.
An area of low pressure which will send a band of rain up across Ireland on Friday night into Saturday morning will clear to the north later Saturday morning. On Saturday that area of low pressure then steers towards Ireland and then stalls and stays across the country up until at least midweek.
On Sunday we will have rather cold upper air temperatures and with good solar heating from the sun this will aid in the development of convection and thunderstorms forming across parts of Ireland with the west, northwest and north most at risk to these heavy downpours which could lead to some flooding and falls of hail and based on the latest data looking ahead to Sunday some lightning will also be a risk. Donegal Weather Channel will revise the situation on Saturday evening and early warnings may be issued by Saturday night for the period on Sunday afternoon.
The Surface pressure chart above also shows that a Occluded front will cross Ireland on Sunday and for anyone that does not know what that is you can see the Occluded front marked in purple over Ireland.
An occluded front, the cold air mass from the cold front meets the cool air that was ahead of the warm front. The warm air rises as these air masses come together. Occluded fronts usually form around areas of low atmospheric pressure which can be seen over Ireland in this case.
Monday 10th May 2021
Monday again will see the risk of heavy downpours with the risk of some of these leading to flooding in places. Some of these showers again will have the potential to develop into active thunderstorms. At the moment the risk of looks rather widespread. Some warnings may be issued for thunderstorms and the risk of flooding.
Tuesday 11th May 2021
Again Tuesday there will be the risk of thundery downpours across parts of Ireland with the risk of active thunderstorms again with some warnings possible. The fine details of forecasting these thundery showers will be known closer to the day. Stay tuned to the forecast.
Wednesday onwards
Again the risk of further heavy thundery showers in places on Wednesday but some areas may stay dry over the day with good bright and sunny weather. Again details will be a little more clearer closer to Wednesday.
Some uncertainty heading into the end of the week but there are signals it may become a little drier across Ireland but this is rather uncertain at the moment mostly due to tonight’s area of low pressure which moves towards Ireland and slows and stalls across Ireland staying in place until least Wednesday 12 of May.
Protect Yourself from Lightning Strikes
You can protect yourself from risk even if you are caught outdoors when lightning is close by.
Safety precautions outdoors
If the weather forecast calls for thunderstorms, postpone your trip or activity.
Remember: When thunder roars, go indoors. Find a safe, enclosed shelter.
Don’t forget the 30-30 rule. After you see lightning, start counting to 30. If you hear thunder before you reach 30, go indoors. Suspend activities for at least 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder.
If no shelter is available, crouch low, with as little of your body touching the ground as possible. Lightning causes electric currents along the top of the ground that can be deadly over 100 feet away.
Stay away from concrete floors or walls. Lightning can travel through any metal wires or bars in concrete walls or flooring. Although you should move into a non-concrete structure if possible, being indoors does not automatically protect you from lightning. In fact, about one-third of lightning-strike injuries occur indoors.
Safety precautions indoors
Avoid water during a thunderstorm. Lightning can travel through plumbing.
Avoid electronic equipment of all types. Lightning can travel through electrical systems and radio and television reception systems.
Avoid corded phones. However, cordless or cellular phones are safe to use during a storm.
Avoid concrete floors and walls.
Lightning strikes may be rare, but they still happen and the risk of serious injury or death is severe. Take thunderstorms seriously.