IRELAND LIES UNDER a warm sector after a weak warm front moved in over the country yesterday. Limited sunshine to the east and north east during the day, with mist and drizzle affecting the south, west and into the northwest and feeling humid in most places.

Cloud cover has broken up more over the eastern half of the country as a ridge of high pressure over the UK extends towards us while a cold front approaches the west.

Wednesday will start off misty across the majority of the country. Cloud will be more broken with good sunny spells developing across the eastern half of the country during the day. Sea fog in the Irish Sea may also drift close to the Leinster coast at times.

In the west, a stubborn low pressure system held back in the Atlantic by the ridge of high pressure will push the cold front in over the western areas bringing light rain and drizzle with it. This front may plague the west with cloud for most of Wednesday weakening all the time, so it may dry out here with some sunshine appearing later in the day. The front moves back out into the Atlantic but may return overnight on Wednesday to the far southwest for a time.

Warm in the sunshine with highs of 19° to 21°C in the midlands, east and north, but held back to 15° or 16°C in the west with the cloud and light rain and in the far south with onshore southerly breezes with low cloud and mist. Winds later becoming south easterly.

By Thursday, some lingering cloud in the south-west will clear with sunshine developing everywhere as high pressure starts to dominate. Winds will back more to the east at this stage but remain mostly light.

The west is best with temperatures at their highest – possibly reaching 22° or 23°C in one or two places – while further to the east it will feel fresher with onshore winds holding temperatures along the east and south coast to 16° or 17°C. Some low cloud may drift in along the coast at times too.

Friday will be warm and mostly sunny but fair weather cloud will bubble up across the country. At this stage it looks as if it will be the warmest day with highs of 22-24°C, warmest in the west and northwest. A risk of heavy showers developing in Munster in the late afternoon, set off due to the high temps. Onshore winds will keep the east coast that bit fresher.

The weekend looks mostly settled but the battle between low and high pressure again resumes. Saturday looks a little breezy with temps falling back a degree or two but mainly dry with sunny spells with the risk of showers once again in the southwest. Sunday may turn cloudy from the south as a weather front tries to push north but this is not certain as yet. It will still be very mild with temps above average.

The UV index will be medium to high from Wednesday onwards. Be warned that under a veil of high cloud, sunburn is still a risk.

Karl Mehlhorn is the founder of the Irish Weather Network.