It looks like a bank holiday weekend for brollies rather than sunnies as Met Éireann has issued an orange level rainfall alert and warned of a flooding risk.
However, conditions are set to improve from tomorrow with sunny weather forecast for Monday.
The rainfall alert for Leinster begins early today until early tomorrow with predictions of heavy, persistent rainfall of between 40 and 70mm .
Flooding is “likely in many places” today, Met Éireann forecaster Harm Luijkx said. The heavy rain is being caused by an area of low pressure to the south tracking across the Irish Sea and activating heavy rainfall. Mr Luijkx said the forecast was “unusual” for August but can happen any time of year.
For those in the west there is good news, as it will be mainly dry today with temperatures of 18-19 degrees.
The weekend’s weather prospects improve from tomorrow with dry, sunny spells forecast for most of the State as the low pressure begins to track northwards.
Holidaymakers in the south can put on their shorts and T-shirts tomorrow as temperatures are expected reach 18 or 19 degrees. For those in Ulster the prospects are gloomier with rain continuing tomorrow and highest temperatures of 14-15 degrees.
Monday will be the “best day of the weekend”, Mr Luijkx said as Met Éireann forecasts mainly dry weather with sunny spells and highs of 18-21 degrees.
The first weekend of August may be a washout but July was the driest in a quarter of a century in some parts of the State, according to new figures.
It was also the warmest July at some weather stations for eight years, the monthly weather report has shown.
Malin Head, Co Donegal, recorded its warmest July and its hottest July day since 2006 with an average temperature of 15.7 degrees and a maximum of 25.7 degrees. The highest temperature of the month was recorded in Carlow where the temperature hit 27.6 degrees on July 25th. The mercury climbed across the State with all average temperatures above the norm.
The report confirmed the cause of many recent sleepless nights with the highest night-time temperatures in 19 years recorded at some stations, mainly in southern coastal counties.
It was also drier than normal in most places, with Mullingar reporting its driest July in a quarter of a century. The Co Westmeath weather station recorded less than half of its average rainfall for July.
Rainy days were rare in some parts of the island, such as Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford, where just five wet days were recorded. However, when it rained it really did pour in some areas. In Ballyhaise almost 60 per cent of the total monthly rainfall happened on July 19th when 44.8mm of rain fell.
It was the brightest month for Dublin in almost three decades, as Dublin Airport station recorded its lowest number of dull days since 1990. A dull day is one with less than 0.5 hours of sunshine.
