Summer has arrived early in Ireland, with the country enjoying its first ‘mini-heatwave’ of the year.
The sizzling temperatures first developed last week bringing wall-to-wall sunshine for many areas.
And Met Eireann’s long-range forecast has confirmed the news we’ve been waiting for, with the experts signalling that the glorious weather will continue into the first week of June.
READ MORE: Ireland to be as hot as Lanzarote with one side of country slightly cooler due to breeze
The meteorological service says the “above average temperatures” and “well below average rainfall” will last until at least Sunday, June 4.
Thermometers could soar as high as 26C in some areas this week, making Ireland hotter than Lanzarote.
The national forecaster confirmed: “Ireland’s weather for the end of May and first week of June looks set to be dominated by a large and expansive area of High Pressure bringing generally dry and settled conditions. An easterly air-flow is forecast as the High-Pressure system becomes centred to the north of Ireland.
“Mean air temperatures are forecast to be above average nationwide, especially in the west. Eastern coastal areas will be somewhat less warm as a relatively cool sea-breeze develops keeping maximum temperatures in the mid to high teens there. Rainfall totals are forecast to be well below normal countrywide with mainly dry conditions apart from the odd shower.”
Saturday was the warmest day of the year so far, as thermometers reached 23.3C in Roscommon. That record looks set to be broken again this week.
While some have dubbed it ‘mini-heatwave’, Met Eireann has confirmed official heatwave conditions have not yet been met.
Heatwaves are often defined as five days of consecutive above average temperatures, but a forecaster previously told the Irish Mirror: "That is a working definition used by some other met offices, but the Met Eireann definition of a heatwave is five consecutive days of temperatures above 25C.”
Giving a day-by-day breakdown of what to expect, the national forecaster said: “Spells of hazy sunshine for the rest of Monday and dry apart from the chance of isolated showers in the southwest. Highest temperatures of 17C to 22C Celsius, warmest away from the east coast, in just light to moderate easterly breezes.
“Tuesday will be warm, dry and sunny. Highest temperatures of 20C to 24C Celsius, again warmest in the west. Light to moderate east to northeast breezes will however keep temperatures a little cooler along eastern fringes.
“Warm, dry and sunny Wednesday. Highest temperatures of 18C to 24C. Mostly moderate northeasterly breezes will keep things slightly cooler in the east with highs there of 15C to 17C.
“Warm, dry and sunny once again Thursday with highest temperatures of 18C to 24C. Once again though light to moderate easterly breeze will keep things temperatures slightly cooler on the east coast.
“Dry and warm in many parts, although there will be a little more passing cloud over the northern half of the country. Highest temperatures over the western half of the country will range from 21C to 24C, while moderate easterly winds will keep highs over the eastern half of the country lower, ranging from 14C on the east coast up to 19C in the midlands
“Current indications suggest that high pressure will continue to stick around over the bank holiday weekend, remaining generally dry and sunny with temperatures reaching the high teens or low twenties away from the east coast and possibly reaching the mid-twenties in some western parts.”
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