Ireland basks in hottest day of year so far

Local boys from Mountmellick enjoying cooling dfown at the Cathole Falls in Ballyfin, Co Laois at the weekend

Local boys from Mountmellick enjoying cooling dfown at the Cathole Falls in Ballyfin, Co Laois at the weekend. The fine weather will continue until at least Thursday.

In case you haven't noticed, today is the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures reaching 25°C in many parts of the country.

The heat, coupled with light winds and clear, sunny skies, has left the whole of Ireland basking in balmy conditions.

If you are stuck indoors today, all is not lot, for tomorrow will be another very warm to hot day with long sunny and bright spells throughout the country. Winds will be light southeasterly and temperatures will range from 22 to 28C.

According to Met Eireann, the warm sultry weather will last until Thursday.

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There may be a risk of a few showers on Wednesday, but temperatures will remain high.

Thursday is expected to be the warmest day this week, with readings of up to 30°C possible.

However, all good things must come to an end, and the mini-heatwave is set to crack on Thursday evening as an area of low pressure moves in from the Atlantic, bringing with it the possibility of thundery showers that could last a couple of days.

The hottest weather of 2005 was also during July, with temperatures reaching over 25°C in most places. In many places, it was the highest temperature since the record-breaking summer of 1995. In Kilkenny, temperatures reached 29.2°C on July 11 thand 12 th.

The highest air temperature ever recorded in Ireland was 33.3°C at Kilkenny Castle in June 1887. The record during the last century was 32.5°C at Boora, Co Offaly in June 1976.