Those hoping for a blast of summer sunshine to make up for a dull and overcast summer will be disappointed by the bank holiday weather forecast.
While Met Éireann said there will be some bright spells on Friday morning in eastern parts of the island, it is also predicted to be “cloudy in general”, with “a little light rain and drizzle” expected in places.
Conditions will change – for the worse – as a spell of persistent rain, turning heavy at times, moves across from the west coast. By Friday evening a clearance to mainly dry weather with sunshine will move into western areas, essentially setting a pattern of rainfall, cloud and glimpses of sunshine for the coming days.
Highest temperatures on Friday are set to range from 17 to 23 degrees, warmest in the east, but turning fresher as the rain clears. It will be breezy for a time with moderate to fresh and gusty southerly winds, veering westerly as the rain clears and moderating.
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Saturday is expected to bring the best of the bank holiday weekend weather, offering some “good spells of sunshine” but with the proviso that there will be “a scattering of showers too”, Met Éireann said.
Sunday is forecast to deliver heavy rain with localised flooding expected in places, perhaps extending into Monday. A status yellow rain warning has been issued for counties Clare, Kerry, Galway and Mayo from 8pm on Sunday to midday on Monday. Met Éireann said there would be rain coupled with strong and gusty southerly winds, especially in exposed areas.
Conditions are expected to be humid in the coming days, as a moisture-laden air mass remains above Ireland. It should become fresher for the rest of next week, with temperatures around average for the time of year.
The outlook for the coming week is for some showers or rain at times with the possibility of dry weather overall “and some sunshine”, Met Éireann said.
Meanwhile, July 2024 was more than half a degree colder than Ireland’s 30 year average, according to the Climate Statement for July 2024 from Met Éireann.
Data from Met Éireann shows the month was 0.59 degrees colder than 1981 – 2020 average, and the coldest July since 2020. It was the 61st coldest July in 125 years of record keeping, Met Éireann said.
Met Éireann’s monthly statement said the average temperature of 14.77 degrees in July 2024 was also 0.61 degrees below the 1991-2020 long term average, and 0.08 degrees below the 1961-1990 LTA for July.
And while it might have felt like more rain fell in July than usual, provisional data shows July saw just 78 per cent (65.1mm) of its 1981-2010 long term average rainfall.
July 2023 remains the wettest July on record with 225 per cent (187.0mm) of its long term average.
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