European heatwave may hit Ireland as scorching weather set for weekend

The European heatwave may hit Ireland with the weather feeling warm and dry for the rest of the week, Met Éireann has said.

Monday was the hottest day of the year so far, reaching record highs of 27.7C in Dublin’s Phoenix Park and 27.2C at Dublin Airport.

As for today, temperatures will range between 16C to 22C, with a light to moderate west to northwest breeze.

The best of the day’s sunshine will be in Leinster and Munster, as scattered showers move across Connacht and Ulster, while the odd shower may drift into northern parts of Leinster and Munster during the evening.

Tonight, we will see scattered showers across Ulster and Connacht, but it will be dry with clear spells for the rest of the country.

Lowest temperatures will range between 8C to 12C with a light westerly or variable breeze.

Sunny spells will continue through to tomorrow although scattered showers will remain in the north of the country.

It will become slightly cloudier in the evening as showers will spread further south, but rain will mainly circulate in northern counties.

Later in the week, sunny spells and scattered showers will persist, but we will see a bright and balmy weekend with temperatures of up to 25C on Saturday.

Meanwhile, European countries are experiencing higher temperatures, with some areas expected to reach highs of above 40 degrees in the coming days.

Highest temperatures are predicted to hit on July 17.

And the UK is being slammed with a heatwave too, with the Met Office saying that there is a 30pc chance that the country will reach 40C this weekend, marking the first time the UK has experienced a level four heatwave.