High temperature alert! Warm stretch to peak tomorrow

Ireland has been basking in lovely summery weather for over a week now, and the good news is that high temperatures are set to continue, with tomorrow (Tuesday) set to be the hottest day of the week. 

At 2pm today, Met Eireann's weather station in Mullingar was showing the temperature at a balmy 22 degrees celsius. 

And it's expected that temperatures in the Midlands will climb further - up to 25 degrees - tomorrow afternoon. 

Met Eireann expects mist or fog on Tuesday morning to give way to warm and sunny conditions. It will be mainly dry with just a "small risk" of an "isolated sharp shower" in the afternoon or evening. 

Wednesday is expected to be another mainly dry and sunny day with top temperatures nationally of around 23 degrees. 

The temperatures will be similar on Thursday but the day will bring an increased risk of rain, with some heavy, and possibly thundery, showers forecast. 

On Friday temperatures in the eastern half of the country will remain high - in the 20 to 24 degree range - and the day is likely to see a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers. 

The indications from Met Eireann at this stage are that the bank holiday weekend will be very pleasant, with "mainly dry" conditions and temperatures in the high teens or low 20s.