Sunny weather expected on Saturday with rain and chance of hail to follow

The best of the sunshine for the coming weekend is likely to occur on Saturday morning – but that is about it for the coming five days, according to Met Éireann.

The national weather forecaster said Friday night will feature some sunny spells with scattered showers with even a change of hail in the northern half of the country.

Saturday morning is set to be “generally cloudy” but there will be a few sunny spells – and that is about as good as it gets for the coming days. While Saturday will feature “a good deal of dry weather” some showery outbreaks of light rain will also feature, most frequently across Connacht and Ulster, Met Éireann said.

Highest temperatures are expected to be in the range of 14 to 17 degrees in south to southwest winds, mostly light to moderate in strength but strong at times along Atlantic coasts.

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From Saturday however it is all down hill as Sunday is forecast to begin cloudy “ with showers extending countrywide”.

Showers will continue to feed in overnight from the Atlantic in a light to moderate westerly breeze. Some clear spells, with the driest weather towards the southeast. Lowest temperatures of 7 to 10 degrees.

Monday will open with “widespread showers, turning increasingly heavy during the afternoon with the chance of a thundery downpour. Highest temperatures of 12 to 15 degrees and a moderate northwest breeze. Showers will continue in western coastal areas overnight, becoming largely dry elsewhere with varying cloud cover. Overnight lows of 6 to 9 degrees.

Tuesday is set to be another day of showers some of them heavy. Highest temperatures only reaching 12 to 15 degrees in a moderate westerly breeze.

The Further outlook is for conditions to stay generally unsettled with rain or showers moving in from the Atlantic, but temperatures will likely rise slightly back into the mid-teens later in the week.