Showery outlook predicted for bank holiday

Whether your bank holiday plans extend to taking your tent to music festivals such as Indiependence or Liss Ard, planning a bank holiday barbecue, or just spending some time catching up on the gardening, be warned; Mother Nature continues to play havoc with our summer.

A mixed bag forecast ranges from thundery showers to sunny spells in the hope August will not be a repeat of the a dismally wet and cold July.

But some forecasters are already warning August weather may not be the welcome relief we were waiting for.

“It will be a very changeable weekend and unfortunately not one that is going to be very settled,” Met Éireann meteorologist Sandra Spillane said.

It is bad news for sport events and festivals in Munster and Leinster this weekend as both regions will bear the brunt of the heavy showers expected to hit the country today, with temperatures struggling to reach 20 degrees.

The Liss Ard music festival in Skibbereen may feature reggae legends Toots and the Maytals, but summery vibes are likely to be in short supply. Indiependence in Mitchelstown has been forced to move its camper van facilities due to heavy rain in north Cork.

After showers die out tonight, fog and mist is set to roll in with temperatures reaching peaking at 10 degrees.

Tomorrow —and we can only hope— will be a bit of a let-up, with scattered showers and sunny spells on the way.

However, the southern counties will be the worst hit by rain.

At least there may be one redeeming factor over the weekend, with the Bank Holiday attracting only “lighter showers” which will be spaced further apart, and more sunny spells. Highest temperatures again will reach about 18 degrees.

It may be true what is commonly said about Ireland; it would be a lovely country if only we could roof it.

Tourism minister Leo Varadkar has been forced to admit: “The weather’s not helpful. I think the difficulty with the bad weather is more to do with domestic tourism: people in Ireland who would have maybe taken a weekend away in Ireland are probably going abroad and that’s disappointing.

“In terms of international tourists, all the research shows that international tourists don’t come to Ireland for the weather and we do expect numbers to be up again this summer.”

Mr Varadkar, meanwhile, will spend his holiday time in the Donegal Gaeltacht where he will take part in an Irish language course. “I’m not going for the weather, I’m going for the language,” he said.