Sunny spells and temperatures to reach 20C – before thunderstorms this weekend

Met Éireann forecasts any mist and fog will clear and it will be largely dry throughout the day.

Light rain or drizzle will move into parts of the west and northwest throughout the afternoon, becoming confined to northern parts of Ulster later.

Highest temperatures of around 13 to 18 or 19 degrees are expected before dropping between 5 to 10 degrees overnight.

A similar pattern will follow tomorrow, when any mist and fog will clear to leave some cloud and sunny spells

It will get warmer again tomorrow, with temperatures ranging from 16 to 20 degrees.

Met Éireann says high pressure will continue to dominate until later in the weekend, which will bring dry, settled weather, with a "good lot” of sunshine.

It will be warm with temperatures in the high teens to the low twenties, they said.

"It looks like we'll see a gradual change to more unsettled weather later in the weekend or early next week and turning cooler.”

Friday will see sunshine with highs of 18 to 22 degrees, while Saturday will see similar summer temperatures with highs of 19 to 22 degrees.

It will be warmest inland and will stay dry into Saturday, though there is a chance of some showers across the south and west on Saturday night.

Cloud and showers are expected on Sunday, breaking the pleasant spell and some thunderstorms could develop.

It will remain warm with some sunshine as temperatures teach highs of 18 to 21 degrees, though will drop back to 14 to 18 degrees across the northwest, west and southwest.

Early next week will see highs of 12 to 16 degrees, marking the start of a cooler period in the early days of the week when it will become more unsettled with some rain or showers at times.