Go west next week for best of the summer sunshine

The weather is set to improve with rising temperatures and more sunshine, but not until towards the end of the bank holiday weekend.

According to Met Éireann it will be mainly cloudy on Thursday with scattered outbreaks of rain and drizzle throughout the day, but drier intervals as well. Highest temperatures will be 11-13 degrees in moderate to fresh southwest winds.

Friday will also feature a good deal of cloud with a risk of some patchy rain or drizzle in Connacht and Ulster, especially in coastal areas. The best of any sunny breaks will be in Leinster and Munster. Temperatures will rise to 14-17 degrees with moderate southwest breezes.

Saturday will be a brighter day with sunny spells. Temperatures will remain between 13 and 16 degrees.

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On Sunday the weather starts to improve significantly with highest temperatures of 14-19 degrees. It will be warmest in the midlands and Connacht, and coolest on east and north coasts with light to moderate north to northeast breezes.

According to Met Éireann, current indications suggest that Monday and Tuesday will be dry and warm in many areas with sunny spells. Temperatures on Tuesday are set to reach 20 or 21 degrees in the west.

Wettest April

The improved weather is a change from April which Met Éireann said was “unsettled, dull and wet”.

It was the wettest April at Valentia Observatory in Co Kerry since 1940 and the majority of monthly rainfall totals were above their long-term averages.

The month’s wettest day was also recorded at Valentia with 46.2mm on the 16th.

Of the 30 days of April, 24 were “wet” at Cork Airport which also recorded its dullest April since 1987. At the other end of the scale, Malin Head recorded only 11 wet days where there were just three dull ones.

In terms of sunshine it was the dullest April at Cork Airport since 1987. Apart from Casement Aerodrome, all available monthly sunshine totals were below long-term average.