IRELAND will bask in 22C sunshine tomorrow after the hottest day of the year – as the Canaries were drenched by Storm Olivier.
Parts of Tyrone and Donegal recorded a 21C scorcher, with Castlederg and Finner enjoying the earliest 21C heat for 13 years.
Outdoor dining…Brian and Terrie bask in Portmarnock[/caption]
Holidaymakers in the Canary Islands were hit with weather alerts over major downpours[/caption]
Three-year-old Amaya Ali and her mum Samantha soak up the sun on Portmarnock Beach[/caption]
And the mercury is only going to continue to rise with new hottest day temperatures of 22C due on Thursday.
Confirming the blockbuster highs, BBC Weather’s Barra Best said: “Castlederg, Tyrone and Finner, Donegal hit 21C today — the warmest of the year so far and the first 21C of the season!
“It’s also the earliest 21C in 13 years — last happened in March 2012. For context: the average for early April is just 12.5C.”
And Gerry Murphy, of Met Eireann, revealed that temp would be eclipsed with the mercury reaching 22C on Thursday.
Mr Murphy revealed the western half of the country will enjoy the best of the good weather.
He confirmed: “It will be a warm and dry day.”
Families will again flock to beaches for some fun in the sun, with the national forecaster promising Thursday will be a dazzler.
Met Eireann said: “After a cool start it will be another warm, calm and dry day tomorrow Thursday with widespread sunshine, turning a little hazy later across west and northwest areas.
“It is likely to be the warmest day of this current spell of settled weather with maximum temperatures of 16C to 22C.”
Alan O’Reilly, of Carlow Weather, also joked: “Boring weather forecast continues for Thursday. Just sunshine.”
But as the country lapped up the sun, holidaymakers in the Canary Islands were hit with weather alerts over major downpours.
Storm Olivier, which made landfall on the holiday islands on Wednesday, has officially been classified as a “high-impact weather system”.
The Government of the Canary Islands activated an orange regional weather alert, warning of “adverse conditions”.
The Spanish State Meteorological Agency said Storm Olivier is set to become isolated over the Canary Islands, bringing heavy rainfall and unstable weather.
Spain’s own meteorological agency said that up to 30mm of rain was set to batter some areas in the space of just one hour.
HOLIDAY PAIN
The worst of the weather moved in with moderate to heavy downpours are expected through Tenerife and Gran Canaria at the start.
Spanish reports have claimed that as much as 90mm of rain could fall.
The storm is set to build as rain spreads to Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
All islands have been placed under an orange warning, with Gran Canaria the only one under a yellow warning.
These warnings are set to remain in place until Thursday, with the orange warning being lifted at 8am and the yellow at 8pm.
And forecasters here warned Ireland’s mini-heatwave won’t last forever either, with our weather to take a turn soon.
While it will remain dry and sunny for the rest of the working week, Met Eireann revealed that the weekend would see a dramatic switch – just as the kids break up from school for their Easter holidays.
Temperatures are to fall back closer to average and conditions turning more unsettled, with patches of rain and drizzle moving in on Saturday before light scattered showers arrive on Sunday.
O’Reilly said: “We will be hitting up to 20C next few days with lovely sunshine but a change from Sunday with some more unsettled weather and it looks like to cool down next week.”