New May Temperature Record Verified by Met Office
The Met Office has officially confirmed a new May temperature record for Northern Ireland following the UK heatwave last month.
On 28 May, the overnight temperature at Killowen in County Down remained above 15.9°C, marking it as the warmest night recorded for the month of May.
This surpassed the previous record of 15.6°C, which was also recorded at Killowen in May 2012.
Initially reported as provisional, the temperature figure has now been verified through a
"stringent quality assurance process"that included thorough checks of the weather station site and the equipment used to record the temperature.
Minute-by-Minute Analysis
Officials from the Met Office conducted a detailed minute-by-minute analysis of the temperature readings and compared them with data from nearby stations to ensure the recorded figure was consistent with the weather conditions on that day.
"Verifying temperature records is an important part of the process for inducting new figures into the record books,"said Elizabeth Sykes, the Met Office's head of observations operations.
"While all weather data is subject to stringent national and international guidance and criteria, the extra verification steps for records helps us maintain our confidence and authority in the figures quoted."
Context of the Record-Breaking Heat
The new May record occurred during an exceptional period of late-season heat across the UK and Ireland.
Several individual weather stations also set new heat records during this warm spell, including Armagh, which recorded a temperature of 26.3°C on 25 May. This surpassed its previous May record of 26.2°C set in 1989.
The longstanding 104-year-old record for May in Northern Ireland remains 28.3°C, recorded in Lisburn on 31 May 1922.
