KEEP THE SUNCREAM handy over the weekend as the sunshine and high temperatures are here to stay (in most parts) until at least Sunday.

High pressure centred just off the Norwegian coast will dominate the atmosphere over Ireland up to and including Sunday.

Today: At last, the cloud in the south and south west should break with good sunshine expected after the gloom which has been stubborn to clear over recent days. Over the rest of the country, there will be good sunshine developing after some early morning mist. The mist will be burnt away by a strong sun.

Winds will now settle into the south east, becoming easterly later and remain light. However, there will be a fresh breeze along the south west coast at first.

Air temperatures will range from 16 to 18°C in the east (due to the onshore breeze) up to a warm 21 to 23°C in the midlands, west and north. One or two spots may reach 24°C – most likely in the northwest of the country because of a long land track from the east coast where the breeze heats up as it crosses over warm land. Fair weather cloud will build up overland during the afternoon but it shall remain dry and mostly sunny.

There is a risk of sea fog along eastern and south eastern coastlines at times.

Tomorrow: Friday will be almost a carbon copy of today’s conditions but will possibly be even warmer. As happens with a warm spell with slack winds, the ground retains more heat, impacting on air temperatures. As the air warms up more quickly in a strong sun, some areas could possibly see 25°C temperatures – most likely in the west and northwest of the country.

It will be sunny for the most part everywhere but cloud will bubble up across the country. It shall remain dry in most areas apart from the south and southwest where showers are likely. Drifting from the south midlands into Munster, they could become heavy later in the afternoon.

For the rest of the country, air temperatures will range from 21 to 24°C but held back along eastern coastal areas affected by onshore breeze to 16 or 17°C.

Weekend: The outlook for the weekend is not bad either. It will still be warm in many places on Saturday although the breeze is due to pick up with temperatures falling a couple of degrees to the 20 to 22°C, highest in the west and north but just 15°C along the east coast.

A threat of showers remains in southern areas with a risk of more showery rain on Sunday – again in the south as an area of low pressure tries to move north with more cloud about here.

The northern half of the country looks set to hold onto mostly sunny conditions and remain dry over the weekend.

UV Index: The UV index will be high today and tomorrow. Be warned that under a veil of high cloud, sunburn is still a risk.

Karl Mehlhorn is the founder of the Irish Weather Network.