IT'S back to school, back to work, and now summer decides to arrive. As thousands of schoolchildren yesterday swapped shorts and T shirts for heavy uniforms, MetEireann predicted the rest of this week would bring the best stretch of weather in months.
Met Eireann said this kind of weather is not exceptional for the first week of September, and there is no question at the moment of any temperature or sunshine records being broken. But it will be the finest spell of weather since the very warm period in mid June.
A stationary anticyclone over Ireland will mean a dry and sunny period at least up to the weekend. After a little low cloud and occasional drizzle in the north and north west this morning, all parts of the country will benefit from this excellent spell.
Today will be even clearer and sunnier than yesterday, with temperatures climbing higher than yesterday's slightly above normal 18-21C. The next few days will see temperatures of 19 or above in coastal areas, rising to 23-24 inland, with lots of sunshine.
The anticyclone causing this good weather is not only stationary, it is "blocking" all other weather systems for the foreseeable future, said a Met Eireann forecaster yesterday. It will stay in place, bringing continuing dry weather and sunshine at least until the weekend, and possibly into the early part of next week.
In the second half of this week, the light winds will swing around to the east and north east, making places along the east coast feel cooler.
As the week wears on, the nights will also be cooler, because of the clear skies and the drier, less humid air. As a result, there may be a touch of ground frost in some inland areas.