A new yellow hot weather warning has been issued for nine counties on Friday as the current warm spell persists, though there will be a dip in temperatures at the weekend, according to Met Éireann.
The high temperature warning is valid from 12pm until 8pm on Friday for counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Wexford, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford.
The national forecaster said maximum temperatures will be in excess of 27 degrees, adding that potential impacts include water safety issues due to increased use of lakes, beaches and waterways, heat stress, forest fires and drought.
A six-week hosepipe ban came into effect just after midnight on Thursday for Dublin and south Tipperary as well as parts of Wicklow, Kildare, Meath, Wexford to safeguard water supplies.
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An overall high of 29 degrees was recorded at Shannon Airport, Co Clare, on Wednesday, according to provisional data.
Thursday is set to be another “very warm or hot day”, with highs likely to reach 29 or 30 degrees amid an ongoing status-yellow high-temperature warning.
The weather alert that came into effect on Wednesday for much of the country, with the exception of eastern counties, is due to lapse at 6am on Friday.
Friday will be another dry, sunny and warm “or very warm” day, with peaks of 23 to 28 degrees expected.
Areas in the north and northwest will see relatively cooler conditions from Friday due to a “change to a northerly airflow”, the forecaster said.
This will see highest temperatures reach about 17 to 20 degrees in these areas.
Temperatures generally look set to ease slightly after Friday, reaching 22 to 26 degrees in Munster and Leinster on Saturday, which will be dry and sunny.
It will be cooler in Ulster and Connacht, however, where highs of 17 to 21 degrees are expected.
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Temperatures are set to ease further on Sunday, which will be a “cooler day”, Met Éireann said.
Highest temperatures are expected to reach 20 to 24 degrees, though it will be cooler again in the north and northwest.
Met Éireann meteorologist Ailís Hankinson said the high pressure currently bringing hot conditions is likely to remain throughout next week, according to current indications.
“So there is the potential for those temperatures to stay above average and for this hot spell, while it will take a dip at the weekend, to stick around through next week, with very little rainfall on the cards,” she said.
Hankinson said while there is a chance of some cloudier conditions and light showers coming from the north over the coming days, any rainfall accumulations will be “minimal”.
While this week’s hot temperatures are expected to peak on Thursday, it is “hard to say how warm it’s going to be next week”, she said.
