Ireland weather: Another hot day looms, but Met Éireann raises prospect of rain this week

Temperatures up to 24 degrees are forecast on Tuesday with sunny spells gradually increasing in the afternoon after a cloudy start to the day. But forecasters have raised the prospect of rain at the weekend. As the good weather continues, Met Éireann said it will be warmest further south on Tuesday with highest temperatures in a range between 19 and 24 degrees. However, it will be “a bit cooler” near northwestern and northern coasts, with highest temperatures between 15 and 18 degrees. Tuesday night will be dry for most with clear spells but “cloudier further north with a little light rain or drizzle possible”.READ MOREMet Éireann said the week ahead will see high pressure bringing “dry and warm conditions for most with some decent sunshine too.” But current forecasts are for conditions to become more mixed over the weekend with “some rain and showers expected” but also some sunny spells, especially in the south and east.Dublin weather on Tuesday is forecast to start off cloudy before “good sunshine” develops through the afternoon, with peak temperatures in a range between 20 and 23 degrees. A light to moderate northerly breeze is also forecast. Similarly, it will start off cloudy over much of Leinster with the best of the early sunshine in the southeast. “Sunny spells will become more widespread through the afternoon,” Met Éireann said of the outlook for Leinster. Highest temperatures will be between 20 to 24 degrees, warmest in the south of the province with a light to moderate northerly breeze.Cloud is forecast over the north Munster region early on Tuesday, with sunshine further south becoming more widespread through the afternoon. Peak temperatures are forecast in a range between 19 to 24 degrees, with a light to moderate northerly breeze.Connacht and Ulster are also forecast to start off “generally cloudy” before some good sunshine develops for most through the afternoon in Connacht with some good sunshine developing away from northwest Ulster through the afternoon. The highest temperatures in Connacht will be between 18 to 21 degrees, but Met Éireann said it will be a little cooler near north-facing coasts with a light to moderate northerly breeze.Highest temperatures in Ulster are forecast to range from 15 degrees in the north of the province to 20 degrees in the south, with a light, occasionally moderate, northerly breeze.