Northern Ireland temperatures drop as UK and Republic both set new records - and rural areas see swings of up to 18C between daytime highs and overnight lows
Northern Ireland baked in the sun again today, though temperatures dipped a couple of degrees from the Bank Holiday Monday scorcher.
According to the Met Office, the heat topped the mercury at around 24C in the province – even though the UK record for the hottest day in May was broken, just 24 hours after the last one was set.
With London reaching 35C, a new May record was set for the second day in a row. At more than 10C less than that, Northern Ireland was still well above average for this time of year but wasn’t anywhere close to marking a new milestone.
The Republic of Ireland also logged a new record high with 29.5C in Co Carlow. The warmest sports on this side of the border, however, were Thomastown and Derrylin in Co Fermanagh and Killough and Murlough in the south of Co Down.
Northern Ireland is also experiencing very different temperatures at night.
Monday was described as a “tropical night” in England, with temperatures in one spot of south London never falling below 21.3C; in contrast, Castlederg in Co Tyrone was comparatively baltic 6.5C.
A Met Office spokesman said rural parts of the province in particular are experiencing a “diurnal range” of temperatures, with extreme swings between daytime highs and overnight lows – in this case, a difference of around 18C.
With the heat continuing for a second day, many people around the province were cranking up the air conditioning in work, back to the daily grind after the long weekend.
In the heart of Belfast, sunny weather on a weekday usually sees the grounds of city hall rammed with office and shop staff taking their lunch break al fresco. That wasn’t the case today, however, with workers instead lining the streets around the Edwardian building that houses civic headquarters.
That’s because city hall’s grounds were used to host an international market over the Bank Holiday weekend, and are closed for several days while the market infrastructure is taken down. Having lost their usual place in the heat, sun-worshipping staff instead plonked themselves on benches and pavements outside city hall.
They’re likely to be back there again tomorrow, as Wednesday is forecast to see temperatures back up a little to the 25C or 26C mark, but city hall’s grounds are to stay shut until Thursday – by which point, according to the Met Office, temperatures will dip slightly to 24C to 25C.
Looking ahead to the weekend, conditions are to slowly change over Friday and Saturday, with wet weather hitting as the weekend kicks in. Sunday will be bright, though still with a chance of showers; said the spokesman: “Keep your brolly on hand, but it won’t be a washout.”
The spokesman told the News Letter that high pressure is acting as a barrier, stopping warm weather from rising to northern parts of the UK and Ireland. The upshot is that both Scotland and Northern Ireland are much cooler than parts of England and the Republic.