Stunning weather to continue, says Met Office, as Northern Ireland's summery sun to last for another week

Sunny weather is set to continue over the weekend and throughout the following week, said a spokesman as the province continues to bask under bright skies.

Although several parts of the UK experienced their hottest day of the year so far, in Northern Ireland the Met Office said it was “close but no cigar”.

Here, the highest temperature was 16.8°C at the Giant’s Causeway; so far, 2025’s highest temperature was 18.2°C, recorded last Monday (31st).

But the Met Office told the News Letter that balmy weather is set to last, with high pressure continuing to bring bright sunshine.

"The temperature will dip slightly over the weekend, by around a degree or so, so it will be closer to the April average,” said the spokesman, “though we expect it rise again into next week.”

Nights will still be chilly, however, with the spokesman warning of a risk of frost in rural areas overnight on both Friday and Saturday nights – and as a result, the Met Office stated, any gardeners planting tender plants will need to be wary of running into problems.

Long-range forecasts are for the weather to be broadly the same over the course of next week, though the spokesman added: “Things may become more changeable next weekend, but that’s a long way off.”

Meanwhile, Armagh Observatory has reported that last month was drier and sunnier than average, and much warmer than usual for March.

It was driest March at Armagh for 13 years, said a spokesperson, continuing a series in which each month since April last year has been drier than average. It was also the sunniest March for three years and the warmest for 13 years.

​That’s mirrored data seen province, as Northern Ireland enjoyed a sunnier than average March last month – though unlike England, didn’t break records.

Northern Ireland, like the rest of the UK, had a drier March than average, with the province recording a mere 31% of its normal monthly rainfall.

And, like England and Scotland and Wales, temperatures were notably higher than normal for that month, with March’s mean temperature 1.3°C above the long-term average.