Summer returns for a week as 22 degree highs forecast

Dust off the barbecue because summer is making a welcome return for the coming week as temperatures are expected to reach up to 22 degrees.

Met Éireann is forecasting "long spells of sunshine" today with top temperatures of 18 to 22 degrees.

Those living in the west of Ireland and the midlands are set experience the best of this weather while those in the east will see temperatures in the high teens.

The sun will return tomorrow when dense inland fog clears after dawn. It is forecast to be just as warm as today with temperatures of between 18 and 22 degrees.

The warm spell will last into the weekend with dry weather and sunny spells forecast for Saturday after some morning drizzle clears. However it will be slightly cooler over the weekend, Met Éireann forecaster Deirdre Lowe said.

By Sunday weather will be back to a more autumnal norm with dry and cloudy conditions and temperatures at average mid-September values, Met Éireann has forecast. Sunday and Monday are expected to be more clouded at times in the east but predominantly dry, Ms Lowe said.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next are expected to be warm and predominantly dry.

However the warmer weather is expected to return after the weekend when it will be humid at times. There will be some mist and haze on the east and south coasts. Overall the weather will be warmer than average with the best weather in the West.

A high pressure system over the North Sea, which is in between low pressure from the Azures, is bringing a warm southeasterly air flow over Ireland and contributing to the warm spell, according Ms Lowe.

Ms Lowe said this air mass will move slowly over Scandinavia where it will stagnate so the air mass will not change in Ireland over the coming week.

The milder drier weather comes after the wettest August in six years in some parts of the country, with Dublin Airport recording its wettest August day in 72 years .

Rainfall levels reached 173.1mm at the airport – 236 per cent of the average for August - making it the wettest there since 2008, according to Met Éireann’s monthly bulletin.