Get out the grill as heat is cranked up

THE beautiful weather is expected to continue over the coming days after temperatures soared to 26 degrees yesterday.

Met Éireann says it is time to get the barbecues out and lash on the sun cream as the bright spell is to continue. Record highs yesterday meant the weather here particularly in the south and east was even better than in several top sunny resorts in France.

Today, tomorrow and the rest of the week won't be quite so hot, forecasters warn, but the settled spell is set to continue for the immediate future at least. A high of around 24 is

expected today with things cooling off just slightly before the weekend.

By 3pm yesterday, temperatures of 24 degrees were recorded in Cork and 26 in Dublin records so far this summer. The western part of the country was cooler by three to four degrees, with mist and even a little drizzle reported by Met Éireann in Belmullet.

But for the rest of the country, it was a very different picture.

"Tuesday won't be quite as warm, particularly in Limerick and Cork. We will have more cloud in the far north. But temperatures will still be in and around the mid-20s," said Met Éireann's Sarah O'Reilly.

She said a bit more cloud is expected tomorrow but there will be a swing back towards sunshine and brighter conditions towards the weekend, when temperatures are expected to be around 18 or 19 degrees.

Temperatures of 26 degrees in parts of the east and south east yesterday compared very favourably to the Mediterranean.

In inland Spain, temperatures soared towards the mid-30s, while most of the sunniest spots in France were also basking in 24 and 25 degrees.

Junior and Leaving Certificate students struggled to concentrate on their morning Maths paper yesterday.

For others cooped up in polling stations as counts and recounts continued, the temperature and tension inside was almost as unbearable as the heat outside.