Temperatures could hit 21C over weekend, says Met Éireann

Temperatures could reach up to 21C in parts of Ireland over the weekend, Met Éireann has said.

In its national forecast, the Irish national meteorological service said the weather "will continue mainly dry and settled as high pressure dominates" and added that sunny spells will continue into next week.

Met Éireann said today will be dry with good sunshine for most, though it will be cloudier in the west and southwest.

However, it added that a few showers will develop in Munster this evening, some turning heavy.

Highest temperatures will be between 14C to 20C degrees and it will be warmest in the west.

Met Éireann said a few showers will move up over Leinster and Ulster tomorrow morning but they will clear by noon.

It said tomorrow will be mainly dry with a fair amount of cloud and some sunny spells.

Highest temperatures will be between 13C and 16C over the western half of Ireland and between 17C and 21C in the east.

Met Éireann said Sunday will also be mainly dry, with a fair amount of cloud and some sunny spells.

It said a few showers may develop in Leinster and Ulster during the afternoon and evening.

Sunday's temperatures will be between 14C and 18C.

Last year, Athenry, Co Galway recorded the highest maximum temperature on record for April, with a mercury hitting of 25.9C on 30 April.

Temperatures 2C or 3C above normal, says meteorologist

Meteorologist at Met Éireann Matthew Martin said that the high temperatures were "not too unusual" for the time of year, but added temperatures are expected to be around 2C or 3C above normal over the next seven days.

"It is not going to be all clear for the weekend, we do have some showers moving up, particularly in the south and west tonight.

"Otherwise, the weekend is looking mostly dry, a mix of cloud and sunny spells with temperatures getting up to between 15 and 21C," he said.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with David McCullagh, he said there is a lot of uncertainty in the forecast from around Thursday and into the May bank holiday.

However, Mr Martin added that at the moment the good weather is expected to last until the middle or later next week.

"There is certainly still some hope that it’ll hang on through the bank holiday weekend," he said.