Ireland is set to be pummeled by days of rain, thunder and strong winds thanks to a “revved up jet stream” coming in from the Atlantic.
But it’s not all bad news as Met Eireann has forecast a surprise turn at the weekend when mild and settled conditions are due to take hold.
Before then, as the jet stream strengthens, much of the country will be hit by long spells of unsettled conditions, although there will still be some periods of drier weather.
READ MORE: Ireland set for hottest weekend of the year as Met Eireann forecast dramatic weather U-turn
A jet stream is a core of strong winds around 8 to 11 km above the Earth’s surface, blowing from west to east.
According to the British Met Office, a jet stream flows high overhead and causes changes in the wind and pressure at that level. This affects things nearer the surface, such as areas of high and low pressure, and therefore helps shape the weather we see.
The UK’s national weather service has issued an alert about the active jet stream, with pictures showing it hitting Ireland first.
Forecaster Aidan McGivern told Mirror UK: “The jet stream really revving up during the next couple of days pushing these features in from the Atlantic deepening some areas of low pressure to the north of the UK and making it fairly unseasonable for most of us.”
He said there will be “three days or so of rain, showers and a keen breeze” before the weather “settles down” for the weekend.
Met Eireann says Ireland can expect a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers - some of which will be heavy - over the coming days, along with gusty winds at times.
Temperatures will remain around the mid-teens during the day and in single digits overnight.
The weather is due to take a turn for the better at the weekend though, with bright and mild conditions forecast from Friday.
Met Eireann said: “Friday will be mainly dry with sunny spells and perhaps one or two light showers. Highest temperatures of 13C to 18C with moderate northwest breezes.
“Saturday will be largely dry with sunny spells. Highest temperatures of 14C degrees in the north to 18C in the south with light northerly breezes.
“Sunday will be mainly dry also. However it will be a bit cooler with northerly breezes freshening and highs of 11C to 16C.”
Irish weather expert Alan O’Reilly shared models of the upcoming weekend forecast on his popular Carlow Weather Twitter account, writing: “Friday and weekend looking pretty good! Bakers might want to ramp up the burger buns!”
However he added: “Huge uncertainty on the weather models beyond Sunday but the latest forecast from ECMWF is worse case scenario so wait and see for now.”
Looking ahead to next week, the national forecaster said: “Current indications are that the early days of next week will be a bit more unsettled with some showers.”
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