Break out the sunscreen, the summer is finally on its way

We may have endured a seemingly never-ending winter but it looks like summer is finally going to start, next Monday to be precise.

A quick look around the office here a JOE Towers tells a sorry tale. Hats, scarves, gloves, even the odd snood are still to be spotted on the trusty coat rack and we have lost count of the number of interns phonebooks we have burned to keep us warm.

But at last it seems that the weather gods have finally found the good stuff and are sending it our way. Before you get too excited and break out the shorts and BBQ combo when you get home, the weekend is going to be no great shakes, with cloud and spots of rain, though the temperature will start to move in the right direction from Saturday.

However, if you are lucky enough to have some free time next week, then you will really be able to enjoy the first glimpses of the Irish summer.

From Monday the weather will start to get brighter as well as warmer and, we advise you to sit down for this, the mercury could be touching a positively tropical 19C by next Friday, with some forecasters even suggesting that it could hit 20C next Saturday.

And there is not a rain cloud in the sky either for next week, so you can pack away the umbrella, at least for a few days, and break out the sun lounger.

We’re not too bothered about this weekend, with the Heineken Cup, Champions League final and a load of GAA to keep us busy, but if the weather turns as expected, next week might be the ideal time to use up some of those holidays you have been saving.