PARTS OF THE country may be set for another hot spell next week, Met Éireann has said.

The high temperatures will hit areas in the south and the east of the country, while the north and the west will be less warm.

“Whether we get to 30 degrees is touch and go,” said Liz Walsh, meteorologist at Met Éireann, but temperatures in some areas are likely to climb into the high 20s towards the middle of next week.

This comes amid forecasts across the water that another UK heatwave could be on the way, with temperatures potentially climbing into the low or mid 30s next week.

A UK record of 37.7C was set in Norfolk, in the east of England, on Friday. In Ireland, which saw scorching temperatures last week, the all-time record was 33.3C on 26 June 1887.

While Ireland will likely not see a record-breaking heatwave next week, a period of high pressure coming from the south will see a spell of dry, settled weather in the south and eastern counties between Sunday and Thursday.

It’s due to a weather system coming in from across the Atlantic, Walsh said, which will lead to an increase in humidity.

Walsh said that the temperatures would start climbing around the weekend, and would reach the high 20s by Wednesday or Thursday next week. 

But it will be a “different story” for the west and north of the country, she said, which will be on the periphery of the high pressure system. 

This week will see a period of low pressure, rain and cloud, but things will start to pick up towards the weekend.