It’s not a heatwave - but sunny weather to continue this weekend

Officially, it is not a heatwave we’ve been basking in over recent days, but the advice from weather forecasters is to enjoy this weekend before normal conditions resume.

"I would rather not answer that question," said Joanna Donnelly, of Met Éireann, when asked if the sunny summer days are set to continue.

“I don’t want to be the one who breaks the news - it is going to break.”

Ms Donnelly said there will be a gradual decline into slightly cooler conditions over the coming week.

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“Not a dramatic bad weather change - just slightly reduced high temperatures,” she said.

“It will still be good today (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday), but then cooler temperatures will start to encroach from the north west and by mid-week we are looking at a return to normal weather.”

Data discounts an official heatwave, which was recently redefined as five days in row with maximum temperatures over 25 degrees.

But people in the midlands and the north would be “hard pressed to call it anything but a heatwave over the last while”, said Ms Donnelly.

This weekend marks the sixth consecutive “good weekend” of weather.

“Six in row - you can’t argue with that,” she said.

The south and south east of the country is expected to cling onto the above average temperatures for another few days.