As Ireland enjoys a late heat wave, this September could break Ireland's temperature record hitting 30C / 86F.

Ireland's meteorologists, studying models, believe that temperatures could hit 30C / 86F on Friday. That would beat September's all-time record in Ireland, which was recorded as 29.1C / 84.4F, in 1906. Met Eireann, Ireland's meteorological service, predicts that thunderstorms may also disrupt Ireland's late "mini-heatwave".

Alan O’Reilly, a weather expert, shared maps on his Carlow Weather social media. He explained "Weather models showing Friday could be the warmest day with up to 28C or even 29C possible on some models. The all-time high record for September is 29.1C in Kildare (Clongowes Wood College) 1st September 1906.

“Latest weather model updates still showing a hot Friday with the ARPEGE model showing a record-breaking 30C possible.”

Weather models showing Friday could be the warmest day with up to 28c or even 29c possible on some models. The all time high record for September is 29.1°C in Kildare (Clongowes Wood College) 1st September 1906. pic.twitter.com/Yb49IPmYyf

— Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) September 5, 2023

The highest-ever temperature in Ireland was 33.3C / 92F at Kilkenny Castle, on June 26th, in 1887. 

As Ireland enjoys its Indian summer, Met Eireann has confirmed that this week's sunny climes may in fact be defined as a heat wave. According to the experts, "the Met Eireann definition of a heatwave is five consecutive days of temperatures above 25C.”

This summer has already broken weather records. July was the wettest recorded in 42 years since records began in 1982. In August Ireland experienced two storms, Francis and Betty. 

Head of the Climate Services Division at the Met Éireann, Keith Lambkin, told RTE that summer 2023 could be the fifth warmer on record. These results, according to Met Éireann, show that Ireland's climate is changing.

Met Éireann says that this summer set new records for both heat and rain levels - and says it is further evidence that our climate is changing. The current warm spell however is being enjoyed as a bonus by many people around the country | https://t.co/HprDtcxBr9 pic.twitter.com/vaCgKgludC

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) September 5, 2023

Lambkin told RTE, "This is all happening in a remarkable 12 months where we also saw the wettest March on record as well as the wettest October on record." 

"It is the added heat to the climate system which is helping to drive these record-breaking months."

He continued by warning that "extreme events that we wouldn't ordinarily see we see more frequently, and events that we've never seen before now indeed become possible, or even likely."

"We're seeing trends towards more warmer nights, less frost days and because temperature is a trigger for growth, we're seeing that spring is arriving earlier on average."