Ireland may be set for its hottest day ever with very hot, humid weekend in store.
A high temperature advisory is in place for the whole country – and Met Éireann has said it could be upgraded to weather warning status by Sunday.
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, forecaster Evelyn Cusack said Monday could be the hottest day on record.
“We’re in for a hot spell - we won’t call it a heat wave because it won’t last long enough - but certainly for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, we’ll have temperatures widely across Ireland of at least 27C and 28C,” she said.
“So, on Sunday it could get up to 30C and then on Monday it will be the hottest day and we could get up to 32C.
“So, we are even looking at possibly breaking our record, but it will certainly be very hot for Ireland – although our continental friends think we’re crazy thinking that 30C is hot, that is just a normal summer’s day for most of southern Europe.”
Officially the highest temperature ever recorded in Ireland was the 33.3C recorded at Kilkenny Castle in 1187; however, there are those who question that reading.
The hottest July temperature ever recorded by Met Éireann was the 32.3C recorded in Roscommon in 2006.
Met Éireann this morning issued a Status Yellow high temperature warning for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
⚠️Status Yellow - High Temperature warning for Ireland ⚠️
Exceptionally warm weather on Sunday, Monday & Tuesday over Ireland, daytime temperatures of 25°C to 30°C 🌡️
Impacts:
• Heat stress
• High Solar UV index
• Risk of water related incidentshttps://t.co/07EmTeTy0L pic.twitter.com/FtqyhfNzIJ— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) July 15, 2022
“Then it looks like we’re back to more normal conditions for Wednesday,2 she said.
“On Tuesday itself, we probably won’t get to the 30C. We’ll have a risk of thundery showers breaking out but very warm humid weather for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.”
The Met Éireann forecaster said the hot weather will be right across the country – although it will be cooler at the coasts and in high areas.
The Department of Agriculture has issued an orange fire risk and Ms Cusack urged people to be extremely careful in forests and parks.
“Remember it is completely forbidden to ignite a flame or to have a barbecue in an open spot like that,” she said.
“It is completely forbidden. Ground conditions are very dry so don’t light naked flames and never barbecue in parks or wildland areas or anything like that.”
She said there is also an increased risk of water accidents.
“That’s always terrible for families so water safety is huge,” she said.
“Never get out of your depth if you’re not a strong swimming and if you’re going boating or swimming or fishing or anything you are always meant to wear a water floatation device.”
You can find full safety advice at the Government’s Be Summer Ready page.
