TEMPERATURES ARE SET to climb into the 20s and sunny spells are to continue into next week, according to Met Éireann.

The national forecaster said that the “fine and settled weather” will continue due to a big area of high pressure known as an ‘omega block’. 

The weather pattern is characterised by a large area of high pressure sandwiched between two areas of low pressure, resembling the Greek letter “omega”.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, Met Éireann meteorologist Michelle Dillon said the good weather can be attributed to an omega block which has formed over Scandinavia.

“It’s all down to high pressure – there’s a big area of high pressure which is centred to the south of Scandinavia at the moment. It’s made up of jet stream winds high up in the atmosphere,” Dillon said.

According to Dillon, the high pressure area is likely to continue to be situated near Ireland, bringing mostly settled weather conditions.

“When it gets into this pattern, it really is very hard to shift it, and that’s why we have this prolonged, settled spell of weather that is going to continue through next week and possibly even longer, with just little interruptions at times,” Dillon said.

March was much warmer than average, according to Met Éireann, who said that the average national temperature last month was 8.55 degrees -  which is 1.42 degrees above the March average in Ireland.

Last month was the 8th warmest March on record, and the warmest since 2012.

This trend looks set to continue, as Met Éireann have said the seasonal outlook for April, May and June is for above average temperatures.

High temperatures will continue into this week, with the national forecaster saying that the “dry, sunny and very pleasant” by day with no more than moderate easterly winds.

Today will be another dry, sunny day with highest temperatures of 12 to 18 degrees. It will be mildest in the west and northwest of the country.