Ireland in freak 'pressure cooker' heatwave amid urgent 30C weather warning
The so-called Azores High weather phenomenon is set to trap a bubble of rapidly warming air like a pressure cooker. While much of the country is already experiencing humid conditions and temperatures around 25C, the real heat is expected to intensify from Thursday, peaking during the weekend.
Met Eireann forecaster Deirdre Lowe explained the phenomenon in a social media update this afternoon, saying: "While there will be a good deal of cloud at times over the next couple of days, as we head towards the weekend, longer spells of sunshine will develop with some very warm or hot weather on the way.
"That's as the Azores High builds up over Ireland on Thursday, and then as it moves away to the east, it will allow continental air to be advected up over Ireland in a southeasterly airflow for Friday and the weekend."
She also confirmed that official weather warnings are likely, with urgent status yellow heat alerts expected in the coming days.
Deirdre added: "We will likely be issuing yellow high temperatures warnings in the next couple of days, and we issue these when daytime temperature exceed 27C and nighttime values stay above 15C.
"Thursday will be a dry day for most with warm spells of sunshine, although possibly saying cloudier across northern and northwestern areas with a chance of a few showers and top temperatures on Thursday of 21C to 25C.
"For Friday then, after a foggy start for southern areas, widespread sunshine will likely develop, becoming hot in the sunshine and highest temperatures of 22C to 27C or 28C, all in a light southerly breezes.
"And looking ahead to the weekend, it'll be sunny with very warm or hot days, widespread sunshine and temperatures widely in the mid to high 20s, possibly touching 30C in a few spots, but there is a chance of some showers later on in the weekend."
Whether or not this warm spell becomes an official heatwave remains to be seen. Heatwaves are often defined as five consecutive days of above-average temperatures, however Ireland's weather service uses a stricter definition.
It previously told the Irish Mirror: "That is a working definition used by some other met offices, but the Met Eireann definition of a heatwave is five consecutive days of temperatures above 25C."
With current forecasts predicting multiple days of scorching temperatures, it appears Ireland is on the brink its first official heatwave of the summer thanks to this rare 'pressure cooker' setup.
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