Here is when the weather is set to reach up to 20C

Brighter days ahead (literally)

After weeks of dull, damp and cold spells, temperatures look like they will start to rise towards the end of this week, with Saturday seeing sunny spells and highs of 20 degrees.

Over today and tomorrow, conditions stay mostly cloudy with showers and drizzle, turning drier Wednesday with some sunny spells before patchy rain reaches the southwest later. Temperatures range from 8 to 18 degrees with light to moderate southwesterly winds.

Thursday and Thursday night will remain cloudy with spells of rain and drizzle, and Friday will be similar, with slightly drier spells.

Saturday and Sunday will be the driest days, bringing sunny spells and similar temperatures of 15 to 20 degrees, with Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather saying Sunday is looking 'very good'.

If you're looking for some extra information, let's break down the weather forecast province by province:

Connacht

Today will be cloudy with scattered showers expected as well as fresh, southwesterly winds and temperatures of 8 to 11 degrees. Tomorrow will be similar, but is expected to be drier, with temperatures set to rise to 13 to 15 degrees.

Friday will remain showery, although temperatures will rise again to 17 degrees before the weekend brings some much-needed sunny spells and highs of 20 degrees.

Munster

Cloudy with widespread showers will be seen today, some heavy with a chance of isolated thunderstorms or hail. Temperatures will reach 11 to 14 degrees with moderate to fresh southwesterly winds. Tomorrow will also be cloudy with a few light showers early on and temperatures of 13 to 16 degrees.

Friday will be mostly dry as temperatures rise to highs of 19 degrees. The weekend will bring sunshine and highs of 20 degrees in parts.

Leinster

In Leinster, today is set to see widespread showers or longer spells of rain, which could turn heavy at times and bring isolated thunderstorms or hail. There may be limited sunshine with highs of 13 to 17 degrees. Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy although a few sunny spells may break through.

Friday will reach highs of 17 degrees, with small chance of showers, while the weekend will begin to be brighter and warmer, with highs of 20 degrees.

Ulster

Ulster will see quite an unsettled start to the day with frequent rain and heavy showers, with a risk of thunder and hail under mostly cloudy skies. Temperatures may reach highs of 16 degrees with moderate to fresh southwesterly winds.

Tomorrow turns more settled with a good deal of dry weather, some sunny spells, and only isolated light showers, with highs of 14 to 18 and lighter winds.

Friday will be mostly sunny with highs of 21 degrees, however thunderstorms are possible. Saturday will be dry, with some clouds blocking the sun bringing highs of 19 degrees. Similar conditions will continue into Sunday.

In some more good news, the temperatures are expected to continue to rise across the entire country as we get into next week, possibly reaching the mid-twenties in some parts.

Hopefully the worst is over and summer will land in soon...