Already-soggy Northern Ireland facing warmer but still-wet weekend

​The Met Office says that whilst temperatures may rise to 15C on Saturday, the Province can expected “occasionally heavy” showers and possibly thunder, with the following days “colder and unsettled” before it dries up a bit from Tuesday on.

Kathryn Chalk, operational meteorologist at the Met Office, said the weekend for the UK in general would be “very warm for the time of year”, with temperatures in southern England rising to 19 or 20C – having already hit a maximum of 21.5C in London on Friday.

In addition to that, the Environment Agency issued 15 flood warnings – where flooding is “expected” – and 84 flood alerts in England on Friday, with 42 red cautions for strong streams on the River Thames, advising users of all boats not to navigate.

But although sunshine will accompany the warmer weather for parts of England this weekend, she added: “For Scotland and Northern Ireland, we’ve got a band of heavy showers pushing through with a rumble of thunder as well.”

So far this month, the UK has already seen 85% of the monthly average rainfall for April, with areas such as Wales and northern England having had more than 100%.

And that follows on from a very soggy March, when Co Down experienced its third wettest March on record (145.9mm), going all the way back to 1836.

David Brown, the UFU president, issued a statement saying. “We are well used to coping with wet weather, but the present situation is beyond anything that could have been planned for.

"The rain is relentless, and frustration is now giving way to despair… There is no doubt this weather is now threatening domestic food production.” (see Farming Life)

Meanwhile Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said pubs and restaurants are hoping for some better weather soon to “offset the impact” of wet weather so far in the year.