With the Mediterranean heatwave causing sweltering conditions and rising temperatures in mainland Europe, Irish people have been wondering if it will impact Ireland's weather patterns.
At present, it looks like the heatwave will not impact the 32 counties with conditions expected to be "unseasonably windy today with fresh to strong, gusty winds, reaching gale force on Atlantic coasts with very rough seas."
As for the next few days, Friday will be blustery and there's also a flooding risk on Saturday. Sunday will bring some further showery rain at times but good dry periods also.
Looking ahead to next week, Monday and Tuesday will see a mixture of sunny spells and scattered showers.
The mercury will not be rising above 20C over the coming days with the following temperature highs expected; Thursday (19 degrees), Friday (20 degrees), Saturday (19 degrees), Sunday (20 degrees), Monday (20 degrees), Tuesday (20 degrees).
As for the Mediterranean heatwave, the Italian island of Sicily may have registered the hottest temperature ever recorded in Europe - 48.8C (119.8F).
The reading needs to be verified by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) but according to the WMO, the current official record in Europe is 48C, registered in Athens in 1977.
The heatwave is being caused by an anticyclone - nicknamed Lucifer - which has moved up from Africa.
This weather phenomenon results in high atmospheric pressure where the air is sinking. At present, Lucifer is forecast to head north across mainland Italy.
The heatwave has resulted in a series of wildfires across southern Italy, with Sicily, Calabria and Puglia the worst-hit regions.
The scorching temperatures are set to reach parts of Spain in the coming days, the holiday destination of choice for many Irish people.
A special weather alert has been issued by Spain's State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) who is warning of conditions far hotter than normal.
More than 30 provinces have been put on alert over the extremely warm weather, with these areas on yellow (risk) and amber (significant risk) warnings.
While it's not know how long the heatwave will last, it looks highly unlikely that Lucifer will impact Ireland's weather patterns massively, especially given the general forecast for the next month.
Next week (13 August- 19 August) will see a changeable pattern as an Atlantic airflow largely dominates.
Met Eireann has forecast that this will cause "blustery or even windy conditions with showery spells of rain and possible warnings."
As for temperatures, next week will be around normal for mid-August with rainfall figures slightly below normal.
Looking further ahead (20 August -26 August), will be more settled as a spell of high pressure makes a positive impact with much less rainfall than expected for this time of year.
The period of 27 August - 2 September, will see similar conditions to the previous week with "drier and slightly milder than average conditions owing to possible high-pressure domination."
The high pressure is expected to dominate for the next week too with average temperatures expected and conditions to be slightly drier than usual.
The Irish Mirror has contacted Met Eireann for further comment about the potential impact that the Mediterranean heatwave could have on Ireland's weather.
