Muggy and unsettled conditions set to bring rain across the country

Many places will see much needed rain for the rest of the week as the recent hot spell comes to an end.

Temperatures will reach no more than 20 degrees in Dublin just two days after a value of 33.0 degrees was recorded in the Phoenix Park, the highest temperature in Ireland for 135 years.

Many parts of the south and east have experienced one of the driest Julys on record. Just 6.2mm of rain has fallen at the Met Éireann station in Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford. The monthly average is 72.8mms. Similarly Oak Park in Co Carlow has had just 8.1mms and Dublin Airport 5.9mms of rain to date this month.

Consequently the soil moisture deficits are up to 75mms in the east and southeast and generally in the country between 30mms and 40mms. Soil moisture deficits measure the amount of rain needed to bring soil up to average moisture levels.

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Thursday and Friday will be relatively dry, but it is set to turn wetter on Friday evening. Saturday will be wet across the country and it will also feel humid.

Saturday night could see heavy rain in most places. Sunday will be a breezy day with scattered outbreaks of rain, but it will remain warm with temperatures of up to 24 degrees in the eastern half of the country.

It will feel very muggy as the air will still be coming from the south.

“Our models are predicting a low pressure system to develop out in the Atlantic and hit us by late Friday and early Saturday bringing belts of rain across the country over the weekend,” said Met Éireann forecaster Brandon Creagh.

Cooler and misty conditions helped fire fighters tackle a potentially catastrophic forest fire in Co Wicklow. More than 100 hectare of trees at Crone Wood, Glencree Valley were threatened by a fire which broke out at 1am on Tuesday morning.

An Irish Air Corps AW139 helicopter dropped over 12,000 litres of water over 11 separate missions. An executive helicopter from Co Galway is expected to complete the job.

“We expected the fire to be out by lunchtime. We got some low cloud and mist which brought the moisture levels up and it made a difference. Conditions improved overnight. We are confident we will be finished today,” said Wicklow chief fire officer Aidan Dempsey.