Northern Ireland enjoys second sunniest April on record

The UK Met Office says last month was the second sunniest April on record in Northern Ireland.

Sunshine totals were 46% above average overall, with 215.7 sunshine hours recorded.

It wasn’t all sunshine last month however, with Northern Ireland recording above average rainfall (114%) due to heavy rain mid-month.

UK Met Office Meteorologist Aidan McGivern said, “High pressure sat over the UK for the first two weeks of April as well as the last week, with low pressure bringing some unsettled weather in the middle. This has meant temperatures have been above average, and rainfall, for most, has been below.

“The last week of April has closed out with temperatures well above the seasonal average, with station records for temperatures and sunshine broken,” he added.

For the UK, temperatures were 1.7°C above average, which represents its third warmest April for mean temperature since the series began in 1884.