Four seasons in a week as ‘African air plume’ brings in burst of heat
FOUR seasons in one week is on the way as forecasters predict strong spring sunshine giving way to more rain.
Ireland will enjoy a burst of heat with temperatures rising to 18C from tomorrow.
But it won’t last for long as rain and cold temperatures will return by the close of the weekend.
Last night’s wind and rain battered most of the country, with strong gusts reaching between 80kmh and 110kmh.
A 24-hour yellow warning for counties Galway, Mayo, Clare, Sligo, Cork, Kerry, Tipperary and Waterford saw rainfall of 25mm to 50mm in coastal areas.
During this period, Met Éireann urged members of the public to be cautious of localised spot flooding and hazardous driving conditions. This warning is valid until 9am.
A separate rainfall warning was also issued for south Dublin, Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Wexford and Wicklow.
Rainfall accumulations of 25mm to 40mm are expected over this period, with the potential for higher amounts on hills and mountains and localised spot flooding. This warning is valid until 11am.
However, throughout the course of the day sunny spells will begin to develop in most areas, with temperatures reaching 13C to 16C. Heavy showers will then follow, turning persistent before nightfall.
Tomorrow will see further rain along Atlantic-coastal counties, but for the rest of us
the weather will vastly improve thanks to a 2,414km ‘African air plume’.
Met Éireann meteorologist Deirdre Lowe told the Irish Independent that parts of the country will even see highs of 18C.
“There will be a bit of morning rain on Wednesday, but once that clears it will dry up and start to get much milder, apart from the west coast, which will stay wet,” she said.
“The Midlands especially is going to have very pleasant weather, with temperatures reaching 17C and 18C.
“However, it will still be breezy and blustery with a lot of cloud, but I can imagine there will be some spells of actual sunshine throughout the day.”
Across the Irish Sea, temperatures in parts of Britain are expected to reach a sweltering 27C.
“Thursday will be mainly dry with lighter winds,” Ms Lowe said. “It won’t be quite as warm as Wednesday, but we can still expect highs of 16C or even 17C. Coastal areas will be a bit fresher.”
The Met Éireann spokesperson said that the warm weather is very unusual for this time of the year. “We’ve had a very cold winter and the mild temperatures we will see during the week is certainly unusual.
“However, I wouldn’t go as far as calling a heatwave. We’re only going to see these conditions last for a couple of days – a heatwave needs to have consistently high temperatures for a certain period.”
Temperatures will begin to decline from Friday and during the course of the weekend.
“It will be noticeably cooler on Friday with a few showers appearing especially in northern counties with highs of 12C to 16C,” added Ms Lowe. “Saturday will be largely dry and bright, with the best conditions appearing in the eastern half of the country.
“But rain is then expected to move in off the Atlantic later in the night and drying up again on Sunday, which will be cooler and fresher again.”