Water way to go as temperatures continue to soar
Met Éireann forecaster John Eagleton said the best of the sunny weather would continue until Saturday before cooling off slightly.
“There was some rain expected on Sunday and that would have been welcomed by a lot of people but it does not look as if it going to happen now,” said Mr Eagleton.
“Temperatures could reach 30-plus today and tomorrow and we are expecting another warm and sunny day on Saturday.”
Mr Eagleton said the humidity — the amount of moisture in the air — was low, and that was helping to keep the weather more bearable at night.
“But if it was humid you would not be getting the temperatures we are experiencing at the moment,” he pointed out.
Temperatures have exceeded 30C in Ireland on only a handful of occasions. Today was one of them. | https://t.co/2GPDJHyPTs pic.twitter.com/rmW5A4WVxa
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) June 27, 2018
The meteorologist said it looked like it would get a bit cooler next week.
“On Sunday temperatures will start to drop back but they will start to rise again next week.
“It will be warm next week but not as warm as it has been towards the end of this week.”
VIDEO: #Heatwave melting some minor roads in Co. Mayo. Council crews treating impacted routes. More on @rtenews pic.twitter.com/qerKf59InP
— Pat McGrath (@patmcgrath) June 27, 2018
Met Éireann’s status yellow high-temperature warning remains in place until 8pm tomorrow.
Irish Water has said demand for water in the greater Dublin area remained “critically high” but there was some evidence that people were beginning to conserve water.
In many of Irish Water’s schemes around the country supply and demand is under pressure and the warm weather is exacerbating the situation.
Some areas in Athlone, Kilkenny, Longford, and north Dublin have experienced outages and restrictions and areas in Donegal, Galway, Limerick, and Mullingar have been identified as being at risk.
Kate, our Corporate Affairs Manager & Water Conservation expert, outlines how the current prolonged dry spell ☀️ impacts our water supplies. Small measures benefit you, your neighbours & your community. See more on this at https://t.co/2iJ1KfUDGU #BeWaterSmart #ConserveWater pic.twitter.com/ygC555Pp1o
— Uisce Éireann - Irish Water (@IrishWater) June 25, 2018
Irish Water’s corporate affairs manager Kate Gannon warned that if the drought was prolonged and demand did not continue to drop, water restrictions would become unavoidable.
“The situation remains critical and we are continuing to seek the public’s help,” said Ms Gannon.
Meanwhile, firefighters in Cork have repeated warnings about the dangers of spontaneous fires during the heatwave after tackling a large hay barn blaze north of Cork city yesterday.
🔥🚒
— Cork City Fire Brigade (@CorkCityFire) June 27, 2018
We are currently in attendance at a Hay Barn on fire in the Whitechurch area. Cork County Fire Service Mallow crew also in attendance with us. #fire #cork pic.twitter.com/s2BML1Kr0N
Four units — two from Cork City and two from Mallow — fought the blaze in Whitechurch around lunchtime.
Investigations to establish the exact cause of the blaze are under way but it is feared it may have started spontaneously.
City fire crews have dealt with several gorse fires since Monday, and have urged people to be vigilant when disposing of rubbish and cigarettes as they may cause gorse and grass fires.
Very busy evening at CCFB again.
— Cork City Fire Brigade (@CorkCityFire) June 26, 2018
Ballyvolane and Anglesea Street crews have extinguished several fires in The Glen, Mayfield, Blarney Road, Clogheen, Knocknaheeney, Hollyhill and the North Ring Road since their shift began at 6pm. #busy #staysafe pic.twitter.com/l9HX05fnrc
Last night and today’s crews still dealing with numerous Bonfires and Gorse Fires 🔥 🚒👨🏼🚒
— Cork City Fire Brigade (@CorkCityFire) June 26, 2018
Enjoy the great weather 😎 and #staysafe pic.twitter.com/rtUwQhwozR
Firefighters in the county issued similar warnings after finding several empty glass bottles in a ditch after extinguishing a fire just outside Clonakilty on Tuesday.
They said the most likely ignition source was the sun shining through one of the bottles.
Another busy days for crews today,
— Cork City Fire Brigade (@CorkCityFire) June 24, 2018
We have attended numerous gorse and grass fires yesterday and today.
If you are out enjoying the great weather, please be vigilant when disposing of rubbish and cigarettes as they may cause gorse and grass fires 🔥 #cork #fire pic.twitter.com/AGON1lftTI
