The blue skies of recent days are set to turn grey for the bank holiday weekend, with a largely cloudy weekend with little rain expected, according to Met Éireann. The national forecaster said Saturday is set to be a cloudy and overcast day, with some outbreaks of rain.
Parts of Ulster will see heavier rain while the south-west of the country should expect long dry periods, with highest temperatures likely between 11 and 15 degrees. Similarly, Sunday is also forecast to be a cloudy day with temperatures to reach highs of between 13 and 17 degrees.
The day will start with outbreaks of rain and become drier over the course of the afternoon, with a chance of sunny spells in the north of the country.
Met Éireann said Monday is expected to be cloudy but with more chances of sunshine, between some light rain showers.
Meanwhile water safety experts have appealed to the public to be cautious while swimming or out on the water over the coming bank holiday weekend.
The Irish Coast Guard and RNLI are preparing for an increase in search and rescue call-outs as the weather improves, and more people visit the sea and inland waterways heading into the summer months.
Michael O’Toole, Irish Coast Guard operations manager, urged the public to take precautionary steps if they were taking to the water over the weekend.
He warned people against having an “over reliance” on mobile phones to contact emergency services if they got into trouble out on the water. People should have a “secondary means of raising the alarm”, such as a flare or a personal locator beacon, he said.
“Be always mindful that conditions at sea, along our coastal and our inland waterways do and will change and the weather can change quite rapidly,” he told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
“We are moving to summer months, the weather is thankfully improving, sea temperatures are slowly increasing, but just remain vigilant and precautionary,” he said.
Kevin Rahill, RNLI safety lead, said the bank holiday weekend would see many people “taking to the water for the first time this year”. People going out on boats should check their equipment and lifejacket beforehand, he said.
Mr Rahill advised people if they did fall into the water unexpectedly to first lie on their back and float. “Keep floating until you feel your breath coming back before calling for help or swimming ashore if nearby,” he said.
Irish Rail has warned passengers that the Dart line will be closed between Greystones and Dun Laoghaire from Saturday until Monday, to allow for engineering works.
A bus transfer will operate between the closed section for passengers travelling on the Dublin-Rosslare train over the weekend.
