Dry weather overall likely for Electric Picnic weekend

Conditions for music festival in Laois to be ‘as good as can be expected’ with risk of showers on Friday, Met Éireann says

Getting set for the Electric Picnic in Stradbally: Met Éireann warns those attending to 'allow for a few heavy downpours' in a worst-case scenario but says a light rain jacket should cover campers for the weekend. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
Getting set for the Electric Picnic in Stradbally: Met Éireann warns those attending to 'allow for a few heavy downpours' in a worst-case scenario but says a light rain jacket should cover campers for the weekend. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Conditions over Electric Picnic weekend will be “as good as can be expected during this time of the year” with some risk of showers on Friday according to Met Éireann.

The weather for the concert will be “overall dry with temperatures warming up over the weekend”, said Siobhán Ryan, duty forecaster for Met Éireann.

Temperatures of 19 or 20 degrees are expected on Friday as Billie Eilish and Niall Horan take the main stage, with 21- or 22-degree temperatures on Saturday when Tom Odell and Paolo Nutini are due to perform. Sunday will see temperatures of about 22 degrees, according to the national forecaster, so the weather is never going to let you down as Rick Astley takes the stage.

Winds will be slack over the weekend, with little or no breeze in the Stradbally, Co Laois area, creating “ideal conditions for camping” according to Ms Ryan who warned that temperatures could drop during the night in Laois, where Electric Picnic is taking place.

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“You’re looking at night-time temperatures of 10 or 11 degrees on Friday night” said the forecaster, warning campers to wrap up warm on Saturday night as clear skies may lead to temperatures dropping below 10 degrees – “once temperatures dip below the double-digits, if you are camping it will feel quite cool”.

“I can’t see any rainfall for Saturday, none for Sunday,” she said but cautioned there was the potential for heavy passing showers on Friday. There are convective showers expected to develop in the south of the country with the possibility of some in Stradbally on Friday afternoon.

She warned those attending the festival to “allow for a few heavy downpours” in a worst-case scenario but said the weather on Friday should be “dry for a lot of the day” and that a light rain jacket should cover campers for the weekend.

Overall, the weekend will be dominated by high-pressure weather with the Azores high weather centre building up over Ireland leading to more stable warm and dry temperatures over the weekend. The high-pressure weather event could stretch as far as the North Sea over the weekend, dissipating any potential rainfall on Saturday and Sunday.

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On Monday morning, as campers may be packing up their tents, Met Éireann warned there is the potential for a weather front to descend upon Co Laois, bringing rain with it but that the high-pressure weather over the weekend should keep Monday dry. Temperatures on Monday should reach about 21 degrees.

In the days leading up to Electric Picnic, a low-pressure front bringing cold weather and rainfall is expected to clear. The Atlantic flow currently over Ireland is bringing mixed conditions with heavy rainfall expected on Wednesday night and early on Thursday.