It comes as amber heat health alerts have been issued in parts of England
Crowds enjoying a beautiful sunny day in Belfast’s Botanic Gardens(Image: Justin Kernoghan/ Belfast Live)
The Met Office has issued a statement regarding the chances of whether Northern Ireland will experience heatwave conditions in the coming days.
It comes as amber heat health alerts have been issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) with a potential heatwave to develop this weekend across southern England. Yellow alerts are in place across the Midlands.
Temperatures in England are set to climb above 30C during Friday then again from Sunday. Amber heat health alerts are issued when high temperatures are likely to have a significant impact on health and social care services.
In Northern Ireland, a heatwave is officially defined as a location recording at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold of 25C.
This temperature varies by area across the UK, with it being 28C in parts of south-east England, for example.
While heatwave conditions will be met in parts of England in the coming days, the Met Office are not currently forecasting such temperatures in Northern Ireland. However, it will feel warm at times over the weekend and into next week.
Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said: “We are currently not expecting any heatwave conditions to develop across Northern Ireland with temperatures set to generally remain below the threshold of 25C.
“Saying that it will certainly feel rather warm and humid at times, especially later in the weekend and early next week with temperatures widely reaching the low twenties across Northern Ireland and possibly up to 24C on Monday.”
The forecast for the coming days shows rain clearing north early on Saturday morning to leave the day and Sunday dry and bright. Into early Monday morning, the current outlook shows a band of cloud and outbreaks of rain, before conditions turn drier for much of the new week.
Meanwhile, the Met Ofice has officially verified a new May temperature record for Northern Ireland following last month’s UK heatwave.
At Killowen in Co Down, the overnight temperature didn’t fall below 15.9C on May 28, making it the warmest night on record for the month. That broke the previous record where temperatures did not fall below 15.6C, recorded at the same site, in May 2012.
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