SHOWERY AND OVERCAST conditions are forecast this weekend as Met Éireann gives a gloomy outlook across the country.

The May days of consistently hot and sunny weather that engulfed the landscape are gone for now, and we cane expect things to be more changeable for the next few days at least.

Today is set to be bright and sunny at first, before heavier clouds and subsequent showers phase in over the afternoon, becoming heavy.

The west and southwest will be worst affected by the downpours, prolonged in many areas by the Atlantic coast and lasting into the late evening.

National temperatures will range from 12 to 17 degrees today, dipping to 6 in the night.

Saturday

Tomorrow will not quite see catastrophic conditions, though it is to be cloudy and rainy once more with the east bearing the brunt of the rain as the day progresses.

It will begin very damp across much of the island but showers will retreat eastwards after peaking around 3pm, providing sunny respite to the rest of the country, with temperatures between 11 and 15 degrees.

Rain will return from the Atlantic on Saturday night, mainly affecting the west and northwest.

Sunday

It will be mixed as sun and showers jostle it out overhead, but the west and southwest can expect the cloudiest conditions.

Highest temperatures of 13 to 17 degrees with the night seeing a variation of some cloud and clear spells accompanied by scattered downpours, restricted to the west and north.

Outlook for June

Met Éireann is hesitant to commit to forecasting any prolonged heatwaves similar to the ones of the recent past, though the national forecaster says that we will see more humid, but changeable, weather going forward.

Its extended range forecast is characterised by uncertainty as it forecasts “a signal for slightly higher than average temperatures” over the next week, but without a commitment to sublime weather.

The north can expect higher-than-average rainfall over this period.

The second half of June is set to bring higher pressure which means more settled conditions across the country, Met Éireann says, with higher-than-average temperatures coinciding with lower-than-average rainfall.