Ireland finds itself this week at the crossroads of two vast atmospheric forces — a Saharan heat dome pushing northward through Europe and an Arctic cold front descending from above — with the island caught briefly but dramatically between them. Friday will bring the warmest day of the year, touching 26 degrees Celsius across Leinster and Munster, before temperatures collapse nearly 10 degrees by Saturday. Met Eireann speaks of 'extreme uncertainty,' a phrase that carries weight beyond the forecast, as meteorologists remind us that such violent swings are not aberrations but rehearsals for the
Ireland braces for extreme weather swing: 26C heat followed by Arctic cold snap
These extremes are going to happen more and more often
Mark
So we're going from the hottest day of the year to autumn-like temperatures in a single day. How does that actually happen?
Mimi
Two massive weather systems are arriving at almost the same time. One is hot air from Africa moving north through Europe. The other is Arctic cold air moving south. Ireland ends up caught between them, and when they collide, the warm air gets forced upward, which creates clouds and rain.
Mark
And the meteorologist said there's "extreme uncertainty" about this. What does that mean in practical terms?
Mimi
It means they don't know exactly how far south the cold air will penetrate, or how long the heat will last, or whether it'll push further north. The collision point could shift, which changes everything about what Ireland actually experiences.
Mark
Is this unusual for June?
Mimi
The heat itself isn't shocking for early summer, but the speed and severity of the swing is. And the fact that it's happening because two extreme systems are meeting at once—that's the part that feels new.
Mark
The meteorologist mentioned climate change. Is she saying this is caused by climate change, or just that climate change makes it more likely?
Mimi
She's saying both. These kinds of extreme swings are becoming more common because the climate system is destabilized. The heat domes are hotter, the cold snaps are colder, and they're colliding more often. It's not that one event proves climate change—it's that the pattern itself is changing.
The Pulse
- Ireland is set to experience its hottest day of 2022 on Friday, with 26C temperatures baking Leinster and Munster — a warmth borrowed from a heat dome scorching southern Europe at 45C.
- The calm will be short-lived: a colliding Arctic front will send temperatures crashing into the mid-to-high teens by Saturday, a drop of nearly 10 degrees in under 24 hours.
- Met Eireann's Joanna Donnelly has flagged 'extreme uncertainty' as the two systems meet over Ireland, with the clash of hot and cold air capable of generating cloud, rain, and unpredictable conditions.
- While the southeast of England absorbs the heat dome's full force over the weekend, Ireland's position between the two fronts makes its forecast uniquely volatile and difficult to pin down.
- Donnelly has framed the week not as a weather curiosity but as a warning — these extreme swings are becoming more frequent, and climate change is the force driving them into ordinary life.
Ireland finds itself this week at the crossroads of two vast atmospheric forces — a Saharan heat dome pushing northward through Europe and an Arctic cold front descending from above — with the island caught briefly but dramatically between them. Friday will bring the warmest day of the year, touching 26 degrees Celsius across Leinster and Munster, before temperatures collapse nearly 10 degrees by Saturday. Met Eireann speaks of 'extreme uncertainty,' a phrase that carries weight beyond the forecast, as meteorologists remind us that such violent swings are not aberrations but rehearsals for the climate that is already arriving.
Ireland is about to live through a week that compresses an entire season's worth of weather into a few days. By Friday, temperatures will peak at 26 degrees Celsius — the warmest the country has seen all year — with Leinster and Munster basking under genuinely hot, sunny skies. Connacht and Ulster will remain cloudier and cooler, with scattered showers possible along the northern and western coasts.
The warmth, however, is borrowed. A heat dome that has been pushing temperatures to 45C across parts of southern Europe is driving northward through Spain and Portugal, while a front of Arctic cold air moves south simultaneously. Ireland sits directly between them, and that collision is what makes the days ahead so difficult to forecast.
Met Eireann meteorologist Joanna Donnelly described Ireland as being in 'prime position' between the two extremes, using the phrase 'extreme uncertainty' to capture what happens when such opposing forces meet. When hot air and cold air collide, the warm air rises, generating cloud and rain — the kind of volatile conditions that make precise forecasting nearly impossible.
By Saturday, the reversal will be stark. Highs will reach only 13 to 17 degrees, with cloud and patchy rain clearing from the south before a fresh northwesterly wind makes it feel cooler still. Sunday offers a partial recovery, with temperatures nudging back into the low 20s in the southeast, though much of the country will remain cool and overcast.
Donnelly was clear that this week is more than a meteorological curiosity. These extreme swings — searing heat followed almost immediately by unseasonable cold — are becoming more common, and climate change is the reason. What Ireland is experiencing this week, she suggested, is not an exception. It is a preview.
Ireland is about to experience one of those weather moments that feels almost unreal in its extremity—a single week compressed into a weather system that swings from Mediterranean warmth to something closer to late autumn. By Friday, temperatures will climb to 26 degrees Celsius, the warmest day the country has seen so far this year. The best of that heat will settle over Leinster and Munster, where the sun will dominate and the air will feel genuinely hot. But that's only half the story.
The other half arrives almost immediately. By Saturday, those same regions will see temperatures collapse back into the mid-to-high teens. The shift isn't gradual—it's the result of two massive weather systems colliding almost directly over the island. A heat dome that has been baking southern Europe, with temperatures reaching 45 degrees Celsius in some places, is pushing north from Africa through Spain and Portugal. At the same time, a front of Arctic cold air is moving south. Ireland, for a brief window, sits directly between them.
Met Eireann meteorologist Joanna Donnelly described the situation with unusual candor: the country is in "prime position" between these two extremes, and there's what she called "extreme uncertainty" about what happens when they meet. The southeast of England will feel the heat dome's effects significantly over the weekend, but Ireland's position is more precarious. When hot air and cold air collide, the warm air rises, and that collision creates clouds and the possibility of rain—exactly the kind of volatile, unpredictable conditions that make forecasting difficult.
Friday itself will be straightforward enough. Leinster and Munster will see dry, warm, sunny conditions with that 26-degree peak. Connacht and Ulster will be cloudier and cooler, with scattered showers possible near the northern and western coasts, though these may spread inland as the day progresses. Friday night will bring cloud and isolated rain moving southeast across the country, with lows between 9 and 13 degrees.
Then comes the reversal. Saturday's highs will reach only 13 to 17 degrees—a drop of nearly 10 degrees from Friday's peak. Cloud and patchy rain will clear from the south and southeast in the morning, leaving sunny spells and a few showers in the west and northwest. A moderate to fresh northwesterly wind will make it feel even cooler. Sunday will be mostly dry with temperatures climbing back slightly into the low 20s in the southeast, though it will remain cooler and cloudier elsewhere.
Donnelly connected this volatile pattern to something larger. She pointed out that these kinds of extreme swings—very hot followed by unseasonably cold, with the uncertainty that comes when such extremes collide—are becoming the new normal. Climate change isn't some distant threat; it's happening now, and these scenarios will occur more frequently in the years ahead. The week ahead isn't just a curiosity of Irish weather. It's a preview of what the climate is becoming.
Notable Quotes
We don't know how far south the cold air will get and we don't know how long the hot air is going to last or whether it will head northwards up the country.— Joanna Donnelly, Met Eireann meteorologist
These extremes of conditions where it is very very hot or unseasonably cold, and the uncertainty that comes when these extremes meet—climate change is happening now, and these scenarios are going to happen more and more often.— Joanna Donnelly, Met Eireann meteorologist
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