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The first official heatwave of the year is on its way with a new high pressure system pushing temperatures up to a baking 30C today.
Temperatures hit the 31.3C mark in Roscommon early last month and stayed in the high 20s for three and four days in a row in some counties, but nowhere fulfilled Met Eireann’s heatwave definition of at least 25C for five consecutive days.
However, a new blast of summer heat looks set to spark a series of high temperature warnings and cautionary advisories from road safety campaigners with latest forecasts showing temperatures in excess of 25C for most of this and next week.
Forecasts are for 30C, which is the temperature in the shade – and can be up to as much as 15C hotter in direct sunlight, according to Met Eireann. That means real-feel temperatures of 45C in Ireland and could lead to extreme fire notices to warn against the risk of forest blazes.
The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) urged people to wear sunscreen to prevent skin cancer, which is the most common form of cancer in Ireland.
The Road Safety Authority said: “Summertime is the most dangerous time of the year on our roads. In the summer, when there are no obvious dangers, and the weather is fine and days are brighter, we drop our guard.”
It advised reducing the risk from sun glare by wearing sunglasses, having adequate supplies of water, cleaning windscreens and topping-up window washers, and minding vulnerable road users.
Heat warnings have already been issued in England with temperatures forecast to reach 35C there today.
RTE weather presenter Nuala Carey said for Ireland: “We are in for a very warm week and the rise in temperatures could also mean humidity and thundery showers.”
A high of 30C is forecast for today, then 25C tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday, with the weekend remaining hot. Some 160,000 Oasis fans will be out in the sun for the band’s reunion gigs at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday and Sunday.
And meteorologist Siobhan Ryan revealed that the high temperatures could extend into next week as well.
She said: “Temperatures are rising and over the coming days, there will be hot sunshine. We haven’t this summer had a heatwave, which is when temperatures are in excess of 25C for five days or more, but we could in this current spell of weather see a heatwave develop.
“But some parts of the country could get thundery downpours while other areas get hot sunshine. It’s difficult to say at the moment. For most of the country, it will be a hot spell of weather, rather than just a warm spell of weather with high temperatures into next week. It is looking like a prolonged spell of very warm weather.”
It’s all thanks to a new high pressure, warm weather system coming up to Ireland from the Bay of Biscay in the south of France.
Ireland will bask in temperatures of up to 30C – with Tipperary set to be the hottest spot in the country, according to Met Eireann weather maps.
Alan O’Reilly from Carlow Weather shared the weather maps on social media. He said: “The Met Eireann Harmonie model showing up to 30C possible Tuesday.”
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