Ireland will be as warm as Spain this Saturday

Dust off those barbecues because this weekend looks like a scorcher.

As we come to the end of another long week, the skies are clear and temperatures are on the up.

Dry today with sunny spells developing. Highest temperatures 12 to 15 degrees with a chance of higher values where longer sunny spells occur

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) April 7, 2017

This evening and tonight will be dry and clear, but there might be some fog patches overnight, according to Met Éireann.

Dry &bright this aft &eve, with sunny spells in many places. High12-16C. Light variable breezes bec s'ly later & incr mod on Atlantic coasts

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) April 7, 2017

Saturday will be a sunny and dry day across the country - perfect for a barbecue or a walk outdoors.

The best of the weather will be in the midlands and west of the country.

Top temperatures will be in the mid to high teens in the sunshine - about the same temperature as parts of Spain.

Keep a cardigan to hand, however, as later in the day it will drop to the low teens along exposed southern and eastern coasts.

Make the most of Saturday as Sunday is set to be cloudy with some patchy rain or drizzle along the Atlantic coasts, especially further north.

It will be noticably cooler on Sunday too, thanks to southwesterly winds veering to the northwest during the course of the day.

There will be some outbreaks of rain spreading eastwards across the northern half of the country during the morning and afternoon but counties in the south and southeast are likely to remain mostly dry.

Highest temperatures 11 to 14 degrees, perhaps touching 15 degrees in the southeast.