Home / Environment / Northern Ireland Smashes May Night Temperature Record
Northern Ireland Smashes May Night Temperature Record
17 Jun
Summary
- Northern Ireland recorded its warmest May night temperature ever.
- Overnight temperature at Killowen did not drop below 15.9C on May 28.
- Met Office verified the record after stringent quality assurance checks.
A new May temperature record for Northern Ireland has been officially confirmed by the Met Office following a recent UK heatwave. The overnight temperature recorded at Killowen, County Down, on May 28, 2026, did not descend below 15.9C. This marks the warmest May night ever recorded in the region, breaking the prior record of 15.6C set at the same location in May 2012.
The figure was initially reported provisionally but has now undergone a stringent quality assurance process. Met Office officials conducted detailed checks of the weather station site and equipment, alongside a minute-by-minute analysis of readings compared with nearby stations. This verification ensures the accuracy and authority of the new record.
The record-breaking night occurred during an exceptional period of late-season warmth across the UK and Ireland. Some individual weather stations also registered their own heat records during this spell. For context, the long-standing overall May record for Northern Ireland is 28.3C, established in Lisburn on May 31, 1922.
