The heat is on.

Nothing like a long weekend with decent weather to get you in the mood for, er, a long weekend. We previously reported that the country is set to be warmer than Barcelona, Lanzarote and Athens over the next few days, and now you can add a couple of degrees to that initial reading. According to Met Éireann's national forecast on Thursday morning, we can expect top temperatures of 16 to 22 or 23 degrees Celsius on Friday and Saturday. Get in. As for what to expect from the weekend overall: Friday will be dry and calm with long spells of hazy sunshine, with temperatures of 16 to 22 degrees forecast. Best values there will be found across the midlands and west, according to Met Éireann. At night, expect things to be "dry and calm" with long clear spells, though some cloud will arrive in the west and northwest later along with some mist and fog patches. Lowest temperatures of five to nine degrees. Saturday, meanwhile, looks to be both mild and warm with further long spells of hazy sunshine spreading across much of Leinster and Munster. Despite that possible top temperature of 23 degrees, some cloud presence and outbreaks of patchy drizzle should be anticipated by those in the west and northwest coastal areas. Lowest temperatures of six to nine degrees. Sunday looks uncertain enough, though Met Éireann's latest data suggests a dry day with spells of sun, all in moderate southerly breezes. Some degree of rain is expected in the west and northwest, as are lower temperatures during the daytime. As for Monday, there is the outside risk of some "very heavy rain" and thus the party being over for those in the west and southwest, but that's later in the day and you'll likely be house-bound as things look to go back to normal, right? That said, there's a good chance of a lot of dry weather, so fingers crossed for that.