Ireland to bake in 23C sun blast this weekend but there's a nasty catch

Ireland looks set to bask in the warmest of the weekend weather as Met Éireann predicts temperatures in the low 20s for most of the country.

The national forecaster is predicting temperatures rising to unseasonable levels with parts of the country on course to see the mercury rise to a balmy 23C. 

A weather model for air temperature published by Met Éireann shows the temperatures over parts of the Midlands and east of the country on Saturday afternoon.

PICTURED: A Met Éireann weather model for air temperature on Saturday, October 7, 2023

While we have to endure rain between now and then, the clear spells will begin overnight on Friday with "any cloud slowly breaking up."

They predict "long clear spells overnight with a southerly breeze too. Rather mild overnight with lowest temperatures of 13 to 16 degrees."

For Sunday, they say it will stay dry and "rather warm" with "just a little cloud building from the west during the afternoon, highest temperatures of 18 to 23 degrees in a southerly breeze."

They added: "More cloud will build during the evening but it will stay dry. Feeling quite muggy too with lowest overnight temperatures of 12 to 15 degrees in a southerly breeze."

Sunday will also be dry and warm with "a mix of cloud and hazy sunshine, highest temperatures of 18 to 22 degrees in a light southwest breeze."

Despite the forecast, Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather has dampened expectations by predicting a lot of cloud cover.

He said: "While the weekend will see warm temperatures and stay mainly dry, there will be a lot of cloud for most areas so don’t be expecting blue skies. The best of any sunny spells looks to be in South or Southeast Saturday. The higher resolution charts tomorrow will give more info."