Tens of thousands without electricity after storms

Tens of thousands of homes in the Republic of Ireland are without power following thunderstorms, and hundreds of homes in Northern Ireland also experienced power outages.

From Sunday night until about 7:00 a.m. on Monday, thousands of lightning strikes were recorded across the island.

There are 36,000 households without electricity in the Republic of Ireland.

In Northern Ireland, around 400 households lost power.

The system, which moved rapidly across the island, brought with it one of the most spectacular lightning displays in recent years.

NIE, Northern Ireland’s electricity provider, said around 400 people were without power overnight but most had now had their power restored.

They also said that “resources have been allocated” for any remaining outages.

ESB Network, which supplies energy to the Republic of Ireland, said it was working to “restore power to all customers and repair damage to infrastructure”.

Parts of the Midlands as well as the west, northwest and southwest were particularly affected, it said.

The company apologized to customers for the inconvenience caused.

The Met Office and Met Éireann had issued weather warnings for rain and thunderstorms, but these have since expired.

The intense weather also included warm nights, with temperatures in parts of Northern Ireland not falling below 18°C.

Temperatures have been rising over the last few days and the peak of the current heatwave is expected today.