Early taste of spring heading our way
A club cyclist made the most of the fine spring sunshine yesterday at Luggala, overlooking Lough Tay near the Sally Gap, Co Wicklow
More photos:
WE managed to escape the snow storms that swept across most of Europe and now we're set for an unusually mild week with temperatures expected to reach 14C.
However, forecasters warned it would be a temporary warm spell and the colder weather would return by the weekend.
Despite snow and hail showers falling on high ground in Donegal over the weekend, humid weather is forecast across the country this week with a sunshine burst expected in southerly counties this Thursday.
"This week will be quite mild during the day with little frost at night. The belts of the sunshine will be in the east and south with temperatures on Thursday hitting 14C in southern counties," a Met Eireann forecaster said yesterday.
Warm southwesterly winds will bring sunny spells, though Met Eireann said there would also be cloud and rain at times.
"The forecast for Tuesday is for little rainfall with average temperatures of 10-12C, while Wednesday will range between 11-13C.
"These temperatures are all very much above normal for this time of year. Thursday will be a particularly bright day in many parts of the country with warm, sunny spells expected,'' added the spokesman.
The unusually mild and bright weather comes after much of mainland Europe was battered by snow storms. Rome, which rarely sees snow, endured a blizzard. The spell of freezing weather caused more than 300 deaths, mostly in Poland and Ukraine.
- Mark O'Regan
Irish Independent
