Stunning weather in NI saw 19 consecutive days in which temp always passed 20C (68F)

There have been numerous sunny days in the Province since early April but the uninterrupted period of particularly strong conditions began on Wednesday May 23.

On that day (see full daily list of max temps below), and every day after until Monday just past, the temperature rose to more than 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit). Monday only reached 17.8C (64F), much closer to the seasonal average.

The mercury almost touched 20C again on Thursday, when it climbed to 19.6C in Helen’s Bay in Co Down.

While the weather has been good across the UK, marred by some heavy rain, the northwest UK has enjoyed some of the best conditions.

Castlederg in Co Tyrone, which was the hottest place in Northern Ireland for seven of the 19 days of uninterrupted weather (see right), was also the hottest place in the entire UK on June 5 and June 6 (23.2 C and 24.9C respectively), compared to a GB hottest of 22.0C and 23.4C.

It is not unusual for southern England to have maximum summer temps far above (10C+) Northern Ireland. This spell of UK-wide weather, however, happened when NI tends to get its best weather.

John Wylie of the Met Office told the News Letter: “For this part of the world, it tends to be the time when you do get fine weather — six or seven Mays out of 10. It is our sunniest month of the year.

“It tends to be the most anti cyclonic period of the year. There is more of an Atlantic influence during the high months of summer July and August.”

While May is generally a good month, he said, this year was particularly so with only 80% of normal rainfall and 20% more sun than average.

“The second half of May and first nine days of June was very warm, with average temperatures across Northern Ireland three degrees or more above average.

“It was caused by high pressure, the winds were light, so people felt the heat. It became more humid with time, which increases the feeling of warmth.”

• Ben Lowry: The finest May weather I recall since 1989

The thunder and rain that happened in the last weekend of May and first weekend of June did not cause too much of a problem, unlike some downpours in England in May. Such rain lowers the temperatures.

UK-wide, May was one of the hottest on record. The Armagh Observatory says while May was sunnier than average there, 202.5 hours, it was less so than last year (250.2 hours, 32% sunnier than average).

The sunniest days of the recent warm spell were Tuesday May 29 (14.8 hours), Wednesday June 16 (13.8 hours) and Saturday June 12 (12.2 hours).

Armagh data might underplay recent weather because it relates only to May, whereas the hot weather is dispersed over the two months it straddled.

The hottest day of all in NI was May 29 which hit 25.3C (78F) in Castlederg, Scotland was 27.5C on May 29, Wales hit the same on June 7, while England reached 27.6C (82F) on May 27 (London had already hit 29.1C/84F on April 19).

Weather was not uniformly good each day. On May 23 Castlederg was 20.8C, Belfast only 17. On June 8, Derrylin in Fermanagh was 23.8C, Giant’s Causeway only 16.8C.

And on Sun June 10, while Killowen in Co Down hit 23.3, the west of the Province rose to only 18C.

Northern Ireland will be cooler in coming days and unsettled but high pressure is due back at end of June.

• Ben Lowry: The finest May weather I recall since 1989

HOTTEST TEMP DAY BY DAY

Tue May 22 All places 17C or less

Wed 23 Castlederg 20.8C

Thu 24 Armagh 23.1C

Fri 25 Killowen 23.2C

Sat 26 Aldergrove 22.8C

Sun 27 Castlederg 23.5C

Mon 28 Castlederg 25.1C

Tue 29 Castlederg 25.3C (Warmest in NI of 2018)

Wed 30 Thomastown 23.3C

Thu 31 Glennanne 21.8C

Fri June 1 Derrylin 24.6C

Sat 2 Thomastown 23.5C

Sun 3 Castlederg 23.3C

Mon 4 Derrylin 23.2C

Tue 5 Castlederg 23.2C (Warmest in UK)

Wed 6 Castlederg 24.0C (Warmest in UK)

Thu 7 Derrylin 24.9C

Fri 8 Derrylin 23.8C

Sat 9 Aldergrove 23.7C (2nd warmest UK)

Sun 10 Killowen 23.3C

Mon 11 Killowen 17.8C