Twelfth weather: Pack sunscreen, drink water and try to stay in the shade, warns Met Office, as 28°C scorcher sends mercury soaring

That’s the advice of the Met Office for the Twelfth, which will see intense, blazing sunlight from around noon to 3pm as temperatures soar as high as 28°C – and potentially could even reach 29°C.

With Northern Ireland baking in a heat wave from one end of the province to the other, it promises to be a scorcher weekend with the mercury soaring especially high on Saturday.

Although the province won’t quite hit the extremes recently seen in the south of England, temperatures here are going to be much higher than usual as Orangemen put on their finest, heft their pipes and lambeg drums, and hit the roads.

It’s going to be so hot, in fact, that a Met Office spokeswoman told the News Letter their standard advice would be to clear off out of the sun altogether when the day’s at its peak hours immediately after noon.

But that’s not really doable this weekend as families line streets all over the province to watch the big day’s parades, while demonstration fields aren’t usually known for their heavy tree cover.

“Our advice would be to make sure you take plenty of water,” said the spokeswoman. “A hat would be a good idea, and sunscreen; if you can stay in the shade, do so.”

Reinforcing the need for sunscreen, and a decently strong one at that, the spokeswoman stated that ultraviolet light levels are expected to be high due to the bright sunshine and heat.

Although there may be a slight breeze in coastal areas, she added, in general the province will feel humid – and rural parts of Northern Ireland won’t get much in the way of wind at all.

She went on to advise anyone indoors on Saturday to keep their curtains drawn as much as possible so sunlight can’t dramatically heat up the house. Allowing the light in, she said, will mean heat gets trapped indoors and could lead to an oppressive night.

Overnight Saturday will be a warm one, temperatures staying around 20°C – good news for any late-night Twelfth revellers who can enjoy near-tropical conditions, but any exhausted marchers trying to get a spot of shut-eye could struggle in the heat.

Sunday will see temperatures start to cool off, the spokeswoman said, though with averages of around 20°C to 24°C and potential highs of up to 27°C, it’ll still be much warmer than usual for this time of year.

“Winds are possible around the coast, which would bring some movement to the air,” said the spokeswoman.

Into next week, a change is on the cards as cooler air hits, bringing temperatures down to a range from the high teens to 21°C – much more in line with July averages in Northern Ireland, the Met Office said.

The province could even expect rain showers or potentially even thunderstorms – the latter due to the after-effects of the current heat wave.

“When it is sunny, it will be much more pleasant,” said the spokeswoman. “The movement of the air will mean it feels much less humid and less heavy than it has for the past few days.”