Yellow gale force 8 wind warning for Derry & Donegal but warmer days lie ahead

Yet another Yellow weather warning has been issued for today, Monday, for windy conditions across the north with strong gusts expected and more heavy rain.

Temperatures will reach an unimpressive 9 degrees Celsius but cold winds sweeping in this morning and even hail storms arriving overnight in Derry and Inishowen are making it feel much colder.

Met Éireann has also issued a Yellow Gale warning from Loop Head to Malin Head to Wicklow Head and on the Irish Sea, warning that west to northwest winds will reach gale force 8 at times. Winds will reach speeds of up to 50km/hour in the region by Monday evening and the warning is valid through until 2am on Tuesday.

The Met Office is warning that strong winds today may cause some disruption throughout Monday, with coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities likely to be affected by spray and/or large waves. Some short term loss of power and other services has also been deemed possible in some areas.

But it is not all bad news. The winds are expected to die down for the rest of the working week, although temperatures in the north west will remain lower than of late before picking up at the weekend and reaching 14 degrees by Sunday in Derry.

At this stage it is looking like next week should see a major shift with much more sunshine and more pleasant conditions with a good deal of much needed dry and sunny weather from Monday, April 22 and only very light breezes.

Beyond next week and into early May indications at this stage are suggesting we could see a good deal of dry weather and temperatures climbing – just in time for Derry’s Jazz Festival.

The Met Office states: “Towards the end of April, high pressure will probably be close to the UK with a good deal of dry weather for many areas. Moving into May, these settled conditions will probably move northwards, with the driest weather across the north west of the UK. If any more unsettled conditions develop these are more likely to affect south with a risk of some heavy rain or showers.”