Northern Ireland bakes in the sun once more - though showery rain to move in ahead of wet weekend
Ulster spent another day baking in the sun today, though showers are predicted to move in as a wet weekend approaches.
Northern Ireland reached high temperatures of 24.6C during the afternoon, which were recorded in Castlederg, Co Tyrone, and Thomastown in Co Fermanagh. The north-east coast was cooler, however, hitting 19C in Co Antrim’s Ballypatrick Forest.
Nationwide, a continuing heatwave hitting England saw a UK life-saving body warn people to keep safe, after the tragic deaths of nine people in open water during the warm spell.
And a teenage boy from Co Tyrone was reportedly lying in hospital after getting in trouble in a lake not far over the border.
Said by RTE to be 16 years old, it’s reported the boy was in Emy Lough close to Emyvale village at around 5pm on Monday evening when the alarm was raised. He was airlifted to Mater Hospital in Dublin, the Irish broadcaster stated.
According to the Met Office, tonight carries a risk of occasional showers that should have dissipated by the morning, though temperatures were to be around 11C to 12C in rural areas, and 13C in towns and cities. That’s much more balmy than extremes of daytime highs and overnight lows seen earlier this week, where parts of Co Tyrone dipped to 6.5C.
Thursday is to be a warm, mostly dry day though growing cloudy in the afternoon. A Met Office spokesman told the News Letter that the odd shower is possible as a result, most likely in counties Fermanagh and Armagh. Temperatures are to stay above average for this time of year, peaking at 21C to 22C.
Friday is to have a cloudy start with the odd shower, before becoming brighter and dry by the afternoon.
The sunny spell will definitely be over by the weekend, with the Met Office forecasting the weather will “start to become unsettled” on Saturday, rain moving in from the south as temperatures drop back to a late-May average of 18C to 19C. “It’s welcome rain for some as it has been so dry,” said the spokesman, “and we don’t see any warnings being issued.”
Today, the south of England continued to ride high in terms of temperatures, though not quite hitting the record-breaking peaks seen since the start of the week.
Bank Holiday Monday set a new record for the hottest day in May the UK has ever seen, which Tuesday broke 24 hours later with a 35C milestone.
Today some parts of south-west England broke the 30C barrier, but much of the country recorded temperatures in the mid-to-late-twenties centigrade.
But warning to take care were sparked by the deaths of people in open water in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Cornwall, Hampshire, Warwickshire, Cheshire, Pembrokeshire, Lincolnshire and Lancashire during the heat wave.
The Royal Life Saving Society issued a plea for everyone to “stop and think” before getting into the water in response to the deaths, most of whom were children.
The body reinforced that hot weather “unfortunately correlates to an increase in accidental drownings” and that despite warmer air “water temperatures remain very cold”.
People need to enter the water slowly and carefully, stay within reach of others, and swim in supervised, lifeguarded areas to stay safe, the society stated.