
New Ireland weather maps turn dark blue as expert makes dire prediction
This time last week, most of us were basking in near 30°C heat, warm sunshine and cool sea breezes. And as beautiful the weather is in Ireland sometimes, it's almost never consistent.
While it's currently still warm and muggy, the long hours of sunshine have all but disappeared and if Met Eireann are to be believed, it looks like things will get progressively worse over the coming days.
New weather maps published by WXCharts.com on Friday showed larges swathes of blue above Ireland on Saturday. The blue sections on the map denote rainfall. According to the charts, the heaviest of the rain is expected in the south of the country.
One Ireland based weather expert, Alan O'Reilly, from the ever reliable Carlow Weather, made a dire prediction on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday morning. Alan warned against the possibility of "heavy rain" across parts of Ireland over the weekend but there was good news for people living in the north.
"A cloudy Friday but only the odd shower and a few bright spells will develop later," posted Alan.
He continued: "Saturday will see heavy rain move into the South around lunchtime and over 20mm is possible Saturday in Southwest. Northern areas will escape most of it though."
Alan's warning comes only hours after he flagged how different weather models made alternative rainfall predictions for the weekend.
"Lot of uncertainty around rainfall forecast over next few days, the ECMWF model that Met Éireann app/site uses for beyond next 2 days shows a lot of rain but GFS model that some other apps and sites use shows a lot less. So if you are seeing a difference that is why," said Alan.
Saturday night: Showery outbreaks of rain will continue to slowly extend northwards over much of the country, reaching northern areas towards morning as drier and clearer conditions develop in the south. Lowest temperatures of 10 to 15 degrees in moderate cyclonic variable winds
Sunday: A mix of sunny spells with showers or showery outbreaks of rain, heavy at times with possible thunderstorms, especially in the north. It will be driest generally in southern areas. Highest temperatures of 17 to 22 degrees with moderate cyclonic variable winds easing light westerly through the day
Sunday night: Largely dry in the south at first with clear spells. Showery outbreaks of rain in the north, heavy at times with the continued possibility of thunderstorms will gradually extend southwards. Lowest temperatures of 8 to 13 degrees in mostly light northwesterly breezes
Monday: Rather cloudy with further showers or showery outbreaks of rain, heaviest and most persistent in the south with further thunderstorms possible. Later in the day, showers will ease for many with some sunny spells breaking through. However, it will remain mostly cloudy and wet in the north. Highest temperatures of 16 to 21 degrees, coolest for Atlantic areas with moderate, occasionally fresh westerly winds developing.
Tuesday: Frequent showers or longer spells of rain will continue to affect the north and northwest through the day. Further south there will be sunny spells and well scattered showers. Highest temperatures of 15 to 19 degrees generally in mostly moderate westerly winds.
Further outlook: Current indications suggest the following days will be mixed but with more in the way of dry intervals.
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