Weather: The hottest day so far this year is recorded in Northern Ireland at 27.1 degrees

A temperature of 27.1C was recorded at Magilligan, beating the previous record – set only yesterday – at Killowen where the mercury reached 26.2C.

The Met Office revealed the record breaking temperature to the News Letter this afternoon, and said there was a slight chance it could be beaten as the day progresses.

It comes as western parts of Northern Ireland have been issued with a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms, though judging by monthly rainfall statistics few of the storms forecast over the past few days have made any great impact.

When asked how much rain has fallen so far this month in Northern Ireland, the Met Office said that just 3% of the monthly average rainfall has been recorded, making this one of the driest Junes on record to date.

Meanwhile other regions in the UK have been issued with fresh thunderstorm warnings as temperatures look set to soar as high as 30C this weekend.

Parts of the country are predicted to be hotter than Marbella, Ibiza and Tenerife in the coming days as a “plume of warm air” moves in from the south, triggering thundery showers.

Some areas could be battered by more than 60mm of rainfall in just a few hours on Sunday, with a yellow warning in place for much of the western side of the UK between noon and 9pm.