Spell of warm weather set to continue into June across Northern Ireland

The current dry spell of weather is down to a very large high pressure system, centered to the northwest of Northern Ireland. Credit: Presseye

The weather so far in May has continued to bring lengthy dry and warm spells.

The maximum temperature has reached above 21 Celsius on five occasions so far this Month. - Helens Bay, 8 May - 21.5C - Castlederg Tyrone, 13 May - 21.4C - Ballywatticock Co Down, 27 May - 21.4C - Helen's Bay Co. Down, 27 May - 21.9C - Armagh, 27 May - 21.8C

People enjoyed bank holiday Monday at Helen's Bay, Co Down Credit: Presseye

The beginning of June will continue to bring similar temperatures. This current dry spell of weather has brought warm days but also chilly nights with a touch of frost, like Tuesday morning where Katebridge dropped to 1C. Why is it so dry?

The current dry spell of weather is down to a very large high pressure system, centered to the northwest of Northern Ireland.

Air moves clockwise around high pressure, so there has been a slight fresh feel to the breeze as air has come from a colder part of the Atlantic.

This has kept temperature a little cooler along the coast with inland temperatures staying in the low 20's.

The jet stream is high up in the atmosphere and responsible for bringing spells of wet weather to Northern Ireland when we are directly in its path.

Currently the jet stream is positioned near Iceland and Scandinavia.

This has meant that the high pressure has been very slow moving as there is no power in the atmosphere to move it to another location. What do we know about the long term forecast?

When high pressure is in charge it makes the long term forecast more accurate and it also means that every day is likely to be similar.

Currently this means warm by day and chilly by night with subtle differences as to where the maximum temperature will occur each day.

Mullaghmore Credit: @OCTNI21

Where will it be warmest?

As there is a light onshore breeze the next few days will see the counties of Tyrone, Fermangh and Armagh experiencing the highest temperatures. How long will the warm weather last?

The current dry spell of weather is expected to last all the way through to next week.

However, a subtle shift in the orientation of the high pressure centre means that it will likely be dry next week but cloudier and cooler.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.