Days of sunny weather appear numbered as today the warmest of August

Sunny days courtesy of a current spell of dry and settled weather appear to be numbered, as Met Éireann confirmed today was the warmest day of August.

The national forecaster said temperatures on Thursday reached 26 degrees at a station in Athenry, Co Galway, making it the warmest day of this month.

The current warm spell is expected to close out the meteorological summer, which ends August 31st, but a breakdown of the high pressure system delivering the pleasant weather is expected later next week.

On Thursday, Met Éireann meteorologist Paul Downes said today was likely to be the best of the higher temperatures.

We’ve loved seeing your photos of the beautiful sunrises & sunsets brought by this spell of settled late summer weather! 🌄 🌅

Thanks to Mel Balfe and @Eoinfah for sharing their pictures taken at Skerries, Maynooth and Rossaveal 📸 pic.twitter.com/HCKHsWXMdR

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) August 26, 2021

“With high pressure firmly in place over Ireland, low pressure systems are being kept well away, maintaining the dry, warm and settled period,” he said.

“A weakening cold front to the northeast of Ireland will track close to eastern coasts tonight and tomorrow, introducing a slightly cooler east to northeasterly airflow for Friday and the weekend.

“Temperatures will still be in the high teens to low twenties generally through the weekend with good sunny spells for the most part giving a very pleasant end to the summer.”

Falling temperatures

Met Éireann has said long spells of late summer sunshine will continue well into next week, however, early next week temperatures will fall closer to normal with highs in the mid to high teens due to a slightly cooler airmass originating in Scandinavia.

The forecaster said a breakdown of the high pressure system across Ireland “does look to be on the cards” later next week, but there is still some uncertainty.

It looks like high pressure will keep our weather settled well into next week and the start of meteorological autumn, but there are signs it could break down by next weekend.

Find out more in our latest Meteorologist's Commentary 📰 https://t.co/4LBgu3Gv4M pic.twitter.com/JCaumW4gPq

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) August 26, 2021

“The global weather connection can clearly be linked as development in the tropical Atlantic region can have knock on effects in the higher latitudes, such as northern Europe,” the forecaster said on Thursday.

“While there is currently no indication that developing storms may impact Ireland directly next week, the indirect implications can alter our weather patterns, as tropical systems take heat from the warm sea surfaces of the tropics, and release it into the atmosphere.

“This acts to nudge the flow and alter the speed of the jet stream, which would influence our weather patterns for northern Europe.”