A LATE burst of summer is expected across the State this weekend as unseasonably high temperatures of up to 22 degrees have been forecast.
The best of this dry and warm “Indian summer” is expected in the midwest on Saturday as the temperatures in Clare and Galway may touch 22 degrees, Met Éireann has said.
The rest of the west coast will also be hot with temperatures of 20 to 21 degrees predicted and inland temperatures of 19 to 20 degrees. The east coast will be slightly cooler, at 16 to 18 degrees, due to winds coming in from the Irish sea, said Met Éireann forecaster John Eagleton.
A deep storm in the mid-Atlantic which is making its way to the Iberian peninsula is causing the hot air. “It’s not threatening us but is heading for Spain and Portugal at the weekend,” Mr Eagleton said.
The warm air from the storm will get caught in an easterly air flow which is building over Ireland, he said. Sunseekers heading to the beach should pack their windbreak as it is also expected to be windy.
The weather is forecast to be mainly dry across the State but in Munster there may be clouds and scattered outbreaks of rain catching the tail end of the mid-Atlantic storm, Mr Eagleton said.
“You could call it an Indian summer. An Indian summer is when there is not a good start to September but the end of September and October have a hint of summer,” he said.
The weather will continue to be sunny next week but temperatures will drop back to normal in the middle of the week, Mr Eagleton said.
The highest October temperature recorded between 1961 and 1990 was 22.3 degrees, according to Met Éireann.
