The hottest April day ever recorded in Ireland will not be surpassed in the current spell of weather, though it will still remain pleasantly warm in most places.
A high for the month of 25.9 degrees was recorded at Athenry in Co Galway on Wednesday afternoon, breaking a 40-year-old record.
Seventeen official Met Éireann weather stations had their warmest April day on record.
The forecast for parts of the south on Thursday is for more of the same, though it will not be quite as hot.
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In east Munster and south Leinster there could be high temperatures of between 23 and 24 degrees, but there is a noted contrast in the north of the country, where temperatures will only be between 13 and 17 degrees on Thursday
“There is a front moving down the country and it will cool things down particularly over the north,” explained Met Éireann forecaster Rebecca Cantwell.
“From Friday it will all drop back further and it will get slightly cooler.”
She added, though, that it will be mostly dry and bright for the main part with little rain forecast, as high pressure continues to dominate the weather, bringing with it settled weather.
Temperatures for the bank holiday weekend will be between 15 and 17 degrees, which is closer to normal, but it will still be a pleasant contrast with the Easter bank holiday weekend which saw a lot of wind and rain.
The longer term forecast is for the high pressure to remain until the middle of next week, which is the furthest period that can be forecast with any certainly.
Temperatures will remain close to or a little above the average for early May.
