Lightning strikes have left hundreds of homes and businesses in the south east without power this afternoon.

Met Éireann has issued a status yellow warning for thunder for Waterford, Leinster and Monaghan.

The ESB says it will take two to three hours to restore power supplies.

Alan O'Reilly from the Carlow Weather Channel says the storms are localised, but quite powerful.

“The weather warning came into effect at 11am and it was issued just shortly after that,” he said.

“It is covering Leinster, Monaghan and Waterford with severe thunderstorms already in parts of the south east which are moving north to northwest with a lot of lightning and some torrential downpours in parts of Waterford, south Kilkenny, Wexford and Carlow.”

Met Éireann said localised thunderstorms are expected to continue for the rest of today and into tonight.

It said they will bring bouts of heavy rainfall and the risk of spot flooding.