Kilkenny to remain dry and sunny as wind and rain batters West: forecasters

KILKENNY and the rest of Leinster are expected to remain largely dry and sunny this weekend as rain and wind batters the west of the country, forecasters have predicted.

Ireland basked in unseasonably high temperatures this week, with the mercury regularly rising to the mid-teens in Kilkenny.

However, temperatures are set to fall back to below April averages early next week.

The west of the country is facing a pretty miserable weekend, with strong gales and heavy showers and even some localised flooding in areas.

Carlow Weather’s Alan Reilly said rain will approach from the west late tomorrow night before moving east.

He tweeted: “Rain will approach from the west Saturday night and move slowly east, how far east it will make it though is uncertain. Latest charts show it stalling in the midlands. This could cause some local flooding in western areas with up to 60mm possible on some models.”

He added: “A real battleground setup for the weekend with latest charts showing a stark contrast between west and east Ireland on Sunday as rain pushes in from Atlantic but then stalls.”

Met Eiréann said Munster and Connacht will be cloudy tomorrow, with rain predicted for Atlantic coastal areas.

But according to its forecast, Kilkenny and much of the rest of the country should be “mainly dry with sunny spells” with temperatures of between 9C and 12C.

It said conditions in Kilkenny and Leinster today will be “generally dry … but rather cloudy with just a few sunny spells. Highest temperatures of 9 to 11 degrees in moderate southeast winds.”

Met Éireann added: “Saturday will still be generally dry with sunny spells. Highest temperatures of 8 to 10 degrees and feeling cool in the fresh southeast winds.”

The national forecaster said Sunday also “looks set to hold dry” in most areas with mostly cloudy skies.

Monday and Tuesday are due to be cold and showery.