Drought warning in place with temperatures to hit 28 degrees

Status yellow alert issued for the week with little or no rain expected, says Met Éireann

People dive off rocks into the sea at Sandycove, Dublin. Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters
People dive off rocks into the sea at Sandycove, Dublin. Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

Met Éireann has issued a weather warning for drought or near-drought conditions for the entire country for the week, with temperatures due to reach 28 degrees on Monday.

The status yellow warning is in place until midnight on Friday with a separate yellow high temperature warning in place for Munster, Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Galway, Leitrim and Roscommon until 9pm on Monday.

Met Éireann said with little or no rain forecast for most areas over the coming week, drought or near-drought conditions are expected to develop more widely across Ireland.

Monday is expected to be a warm, dry and mostly sunny day with highest temperatures ranging between 22 and 28 degrees, with warmest conditions across the midlands, south and southeast. It will be a little cooler for north and northwest counties with values of 18 to 22 degrees.

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People queue for ice cream on Portmarnock Beach. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins
People queue for ice cream on Portmarnock Beach. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Tuesday will be another warm, dry and mostly sunny day with light to moderate easterly breezes. Highest temperatures will be between 21 to 28 degrees, with coolest conditions along the east coast. Met Éireann said a few showers are possible near the south coast on Tuesday night with lowest temperatures between 11 and 15 degrees.

Wednesday will be warm and sunny with a slight risk of one or two isolated showers. Highest temperatures will be between 22 and 28 degrees with warmest conditions in Leinster.

Thursday will be a cooler day with a fair amount of cloud and some sunny intervals. It will be mainly dry, but there may be patchy drizzle in the west and north and a risk of some showers in Munster and south Leinster in the afternoon. Highest temperatures will range from 16 degrees in the northwest to 25 degrees in east Munster and south Leinster.

Friday will be dry with sunny spells and little or no wind. Highest temperatures will be between 18 and 24 degrees with warmest conditions in the midlands and cooler along coasts.

Saturday and Sunday will be warm and sunny days with the chance of one or two isolated showers and highest temperatures between 25 and 26 degrees.

Met Éireann said at the moment it looks like the beginning of next week will continue to be warm, dry and mostly sunny.

Sarah Burns

Sarah Burns

Sarah Burns is a reporter for The Irish Times