Tens of thousands of households across the Republic of Ireland are without power after thunderstorms, with hundreds of households in Northern Ireland also experiencing power cuts.

Thousands of lightning strikes were recorded across the island from late on Sunday night until about 07:00 on Monday.

There are 36,000 properties without power in the Republic of Ireland.

About 400 properties lost power in Northern Ireland.

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

NIE, which provides power to Northern Ireland said there were about 400 people who lost power overnight but most have now had their electricity restored.

They also said all remaining outages have “had resources allocated”.

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

It said parts of the midlands, west, north-west and south-west were particularly affected.

It apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused.

Weather warnings for rain and thunderstorms had been issued by the Met Office and Met Éireann but have now expired.

The intense weather also came with warm overnight conditions with temperatures in parts of Northern Ireland falling no lower than 18C.

Temperatures have been on the rise over recent days, with the peak of the current hot spell expected today.