Weather: Oh no … here comes rain again - mini heatwave comes to an end

Northern Ireland is on the cool down after a glorious weekend of weather which saw large parts of the province enjoy the spectacular Northern Lights phenomenon.

The province had its hottest day of the year on Saturday with 23.8 C recorded at both Aldergrove in Co Antrim and Magilligan in Co Londonderry.

Yesterday was not as warm and thunderstorms hit parts of the province, especially in the west.

A weather warning was issued for thunderstorms for the western half of Northern Ireland between 11am and 7pm.

This week is to be cooler with rain at times, most notably tomorrow, as the warm weather breaks down.

The Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, were most visible in Northern Ireland on Friday night.

The lights were also seen across the UK and in parts of Europe after an “extreme” geomagnetic storm caused them to be more visible, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Chris Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said there were sightings “from top to tail across the country”.

Mr Snell said there were sightings in parts of Europe on Friday night as well, with the Met Office receiving pictures and information from locations including Prague and Barcelona.

Across the UK on Saturday, temperatures peaked at 25.9C in Herstmonceux, East Sussex, and in northern Scotland a temperature of 25.7C was recorded in Cassley. But yesterday was even hotter in Great Britain, touching 27.5C in Chertsey, Surrey.

Gogerddan in Wales saw 25.1C, while temperatures in Northern Ireland peaked at 23.8C in Magilligan.

Temperatures climbed steadily over last week, with the previous record set on Thursday, with a peak of 24.6C in London’s St James’s Park.

The Royal Life Saving Society UK has warned warmer weather is directly linked to an increase in fatal drowning incidents. On Friday, 17-year-old Ronalds Abele died after getting into difficulty while swimming at the Embankment, in Wellingborough, and was pulled from the water by emergency services, Northamptonshire Police said.