Sunny spells and milder weather due with temperatures set to rise to 18C 

It comes as provisional data from Met Éireann found that last month was "the wettest March on record in Ireland". Data from the March Climate Statement found an average of 173.3mm of rain falling last month.

Sunday is expected to see sunny spells break through after patchy drizzle in the morning, but there will be some scatted showers throughout the day. 

Met Éireann said the weather will be "milder than recent days with highest temperatures of 14C to 18C". 

There will be some showers in the south on Sunday night but it will be largely a dry and mild evening, with temperatures falling to lows of 8C to 10C. 

Monday will see those same scattered showers move up from the south, but "some mild sunny spells" will develop later in the day. It will again be warm with highest temperatures of 13C to 17C expected. 

The mercury is once again expected to hit 18C on Tuesday, with Met Éireann predicting that after mist and fog to start the day, "sunnier skies" will set in. It will be warmest "across Atlantic counties and the midlands" with it being "somewhat cooler elsewhere though with onshore winds".

Wednesday will see a cooler day, with temperatures peaking at around 14C  with some showers, "possibly heavy along the east coast", due as well. This comes as Thursday and Friday will see a return to milder weather with "dry and sunny spells" expected. 

The hottest April day ever recorded in Ireland was in 1984 when a temperature of 25.8C was reached in Donegal. Ireland's hottest ever temperature was recorded at Kilkenny Castle in June 1887 when the mercury hit 33.3C.

Last summer, the Met Éireann's Phoenix Park weather station recorded a temperature of 33C, making it the second highest temperature on record for Ireland.