Met Éireann has issued rainfall and wind warnings ahead of the August bank holiday weekend.
The forecaster said unsettled weather can be expected in the coming days, with conditions “not looking good for a bank holiday Saturday in August”.
A status yellow rainfall warning is in place from 2pm on Friday until 9am on Saturday for all of Connacht as well as Cavan, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow, Monaghan. Spells of heavy rain during the warning bring the risk of spot flooding and difficult travelling conditions.
Saturday will see an additional yellow wind warning in place for Cork, Kerry and Waterford with gusts of up to 110km/h predicted. A yellow rain warning is also in place for all of Northern Ireland from midnight to noon on Saturday.
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Meteorologist Aoife Kealy said long, clear spells should develop on Thursday night while northwesterly breezes will decrease light to moderate in strength.
This will give mostly dry conditions on Friday morning with possibly the best of the weekend weather.
However, cloud will thicken from the west during the afternoon and rain will develop in the west and southwest. Rain will then extend eastward to all areas by Friday evening. Highest temperatures generally ranging from 16 to 19 degrees in light to moderate northwest breezes.
Some “really quite unseasonal weather can be expected on Saturday”, Ms Kealy said.
Wet and windy conditions that build across the county of Friday night will lead to outbreaks of rain and strong northwest winds on Saturday morning.
Rain will clear into the Irish Sea during the afternoon with sunny spells and scattered showers following for the remainder of the day. The maximum temperature will be 14 to 17 degrees, with strong northwest winds.
Sunday looks set to be a bright day with a mix of sunshine and showers, the showers most frequent in Ulster. Maximum temperatures of 16 to 20 degrees in a moderate west to northwest breeze are forecast.
Sunday night will see rain develop in west Munster. Lowest temperatures of 9 to 12 degrees in a moderate southwest breeze are expected.
On bank holiday Monday, rain is expected to spread northwards over much of the country but some northern counties may stay dry. Highest temperatures of 14 to 17 degrees in a moderate to fresh southwest winds.
Changeable weather is expected to continue into the middle of next week, with rain or showers at times.
There is a little hope however for some August sunshine as Met Éireann’s extended range forecast predicts conditions after August 7th will turn “a bit more settled than in recent days with high pressure located close to Ireland through much of the week”.
But Ms Kealy said confidence levels in the extended range forecast were lower the further out the forecast went. She cautioned that even with high pressure, it was likely a succession of Atlantic fronts would keep bringing showers.
