Sunny weather expected to last into next week

By Jonathan McCambridge, PA

A spell of fine and sunny weather in Northern Ireland is expected to last until next week.

On Monday, Castlederg in County Tyrone recorded the highest temperature in the UK and Ireland at 24.3C.

The Met Office said the heat is expected to peak on Wednesday when temperatures may reach 25C or 26C.

The forecaster said: “Any early mist or fog patches (are) soon burning away on a fine, dry, sunny, warm day, with temperatures highest towards Belfast.”

While the return of the good weather has been welcomed by most, it is still some way short of the record-breaking temperatures experienced in the region in July.

During the heatwave the Northern Ireland temperature record was exceeded on several occasions.

Castlederg recorded a temperature of 31.3C on July 21.

A higher temperature of 31.4C was provisionally recorded in Armagh the following day, but was ruled out by the Met Office because the equipment did not pass all subsequent verification checks.

Until the July heatwave, the record temperature in Northern Ireland had stood for 45 years.

The most recent spell of good weather has led to the reopening of the Portglenone Sunflower Field in Co Antrim, which is raising money for Bowel Cancer UK.