Ireland weather: Met Eireann forecasts dry and sunny week ahead before drastic change

St. Patrick’s Day saw record attendance thanks to the dry, albeit cold, weather and a generally pleasant Bank Holiday weekend.

Looking ahead to the coming week, it appears that the mostly dry weather is here to stay with temperatures reaching up to 16 degrees during the week.

However the weather is expected to take a drastic turn towards the end of the week with unsettled conditions and widespread rain across the country predicted.

Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather says how much rain we will get is still uncertain as the weather model develops: "We have very little rain up to Friday but then we will likely see rain return however how much rain we see over the weekend is uncertain yet with weather models struggling to agree on position of low system that will bring the rain towards us".

Check out Met Eireann’s latest national forecast below:

Today - Tuesday 18th March:

Staying mainly dry today with just isolated showers in the southwest. After a cloudy start better sunshine will develop through the day. Highest temperatures 7 to 10 degrees with moderate to fresh east to southeast winds easing later.

Tonight:

Dry, cold and mostly clear Tuesday night. Some frost expected with lowest temperatures of minus 1 to plus 4 degrees, coldest in Ulster, in light easterly breezes. A few mist and fog patches may also develop.

Tomorrow - Wednesday 19th March:

Dry and mostly sunny on Wednesday. Highest temperatures 11 to 15 degrees, in mostly light easterly breezes.

Wednesday night:

Dry and clear to start Wednesday night, becoming cloudier towards morning. Lowest temperatures plus 1 to 6 degrees, coldest in the north. Some mist and fog patches will form in light easterly breezes.

Thursday:

Mainly dry with sunny spells on Thursday. Highest temperatures 13 to 16 degrees generally in light to moderate southeast breezes.

Thursday night:

Dry with clear spells at first. Cloud will build from the south through the night. Lowest temperatures 7 to 10 degrees in moderate easterly winds.

Friday:

Turning unsettled from Friday with showers expected to develop in the south at first, becoming widespread later. Highest temperatures 13 to 15 degrees in moderate to fresh southeasterly winds.

Saturday:

There'll be further scattered showers on Saturday with temperatures of 13 or 14 degrees in light to moderate southeast or variable breezes.

Further outlook:

Current indications suggest that the weather will continue unsettled with showers or longer spells of rain for Sunday and Monday.