Tyrone sizzles as North records hottest day ever

PEOPLE across Tyrone were slapping on the sun cream and heading outdoors this weekend as temperatures reached record-breaking highs in the North.

According to the Met Office, Saturday was the warmest day of the year so far in the UK, with all four countries recording their highest temperatures of 2021.

Indeed, the Met Office further stated that Saturday was provisionally the hottest day ever recorded in Northern Ireland. At 3.40pm, Ballywatticock in county Down reached a sizzling 31.2 degrees Celsius.

Previously, 30.8 degrees Celsius was the highest temperature recorded in the North, reached on both July 12, 1983 and June 30, 1976.

Meanwhile, Friday had been the warmest day in the North since 2018, with a temperature of 26.9 degrees Celsius recorded at 4pm in Castlederg.

And, in good news for all the county’s sun-worshippers – and bad news for its office workers – the heatwave looks likely to continue into this week. The Met Office is forecasting that high pressure over the UK will maintain the very warm conditions for the next few days.