Ireland is set for its warmest weather of 2026 so far, with Met Eireann promising temperatures will climb into the 20s as high pressure brings wall to wall sunshine.
Ireland will dramatically heat up this weekend(Image: WXCharts)
After what has felt like weeks of grey skies, rain and chilly temperatures, Ireland is finally about to get a proper taste of summer – and some counties could soon be basking in the hottest conditions of the year so far.
New weather maps show temperatures steadily climbing over the coming days as high pressure starts to take hold, bringing warmer air, more sunshine and far more settled conditions than we’ve seen recently.
Not every county will see wall to wall sunshine, but Met Eireann says much of Ireland is in line for a noticeably warmer and drier weekend.
The national forecaster confirmed tomorrow will mark the start of the warm up, however conditions will be mixed at first with patchy rain and drizzle before brighter spells develop later in the day. Temperatures are expected to reach 19C, with the warmest conditions across the midlands, east and north.
Things improve further on Friday, with highs of up to 20C expected as sunny spells become more widespread during the afternoon.
Sunday temperature map(Image: Netweather.tv)
By Saturday, much of Ireland is forecast to enjoy warm sunshine and largely dry conditions, with temperatures climbing to 21C in many areas.
Sunday is currently shaping up to be even warmer again, with Met Eireann saying “current indications suggest Sunday will be a dry, warm and sunny day for most” as temperatures potentially reach 23C.
Sunday temperature map(Image: WXCharts)
However, it’s early next week that weather charts become especially eye catching, with some models indicating temperatures could surge into the mid to high 20s by Monday.
Some maps are even hinting at a possible 29C, which would break Ireland’s current May temperature record of 28.4C set in Kerry in 1997. While forecasts at that far ahead can still change significantly, confidence is growing that Ireland could be heading into its warmest spell of 2026 so far.
Monday temperature map(Image: meteologix.com)
Despite the promising forecast, it’s still too early to know whether Ireland will officially experience a heatwave. Heatwaves are often defined as five days of consecutive above average temperature, but Met Eireann 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.”
That means Ireland would need at least five days straight of above 25C to officially qualify.
Monday temperature map(Image: Netweather.tv)
There are also increasing signs that the improving weather may stick around for a while. In a promising update for sun lovers, Met Eireann’s long range outlook suggests high pressure could remain the dominant weather pattern right through much of June.
For the week of May 25 and May 31, the national forecaster said: “High pressure will dominate our weather during week 1, bringing settled conditions with largely dry weather and sunshine. It will be warmer than average nationwide with rainfall amounts below average for all areas also.”
Monday temperature map(Image: WXCharts)
Looking ahead to early June, Met Eireann added: “Current indications suggest that high pressure will remain the dominant driver of our weather during week 2. Settled conditions will continue as a result with warmer and drier than average conditions nationwide.”
Even further ahead, the meteorological service says there are continued signals for above average temperatures and relatively settled weather right through until at least June 21, however some showers and rain can’t be completely ruled out at this stage.
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