Louise Small: Summer on its way ... but it won't be stopping for long

By Louise Small

Sunshine and showers...those are the words that have dictated the weather forecast for the past number of weeks.

But it now seems summer is finally on its way, albeit for a brief period of time.

High pressure has been trying to push in from the south west all week, but a number of weak weather fronts pushed in from the north west bringing cloudier skies and some light rain at times.

However, the high pressure will move up and settle across us this weekend, with conditions becoming noticeably warmer and quiet as we edge closer to the bank holiday next week.

We will hold on to cloudy skies for the first half of the weekend but as the high pushes through we can expect plenty of warm sunshine on Monday and Tuesday.

The warming trend will continue through the first half of next week with highs of 24 °C but there is a slight amount of uncertainty for the latter part of week, so it's best to stay up to date with the forecast on UTV.

As cloud cover slips away UV levels will be moderate to high over the coming days, so it is important to be aware of any bright or sunny spells and take care in the sun.

Pollen levels will also increase to high to coincide with the good spell of weather, unfortunately not the best news for those who suffer with hayfever.

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