However, clear skies will result in chilly nights with the possibility of ground frost in the run up to the North West 200 later this week.
Thousands of young people turned out to enjoy the eight-race-card May Day Student Races as high pressure continues to dominate bringing fine and sunny weather across Northern Ireland.
“On Bank Holiday Monday temperatures reached 16-17C, so top temperature we’ve had so far is 16.9 in Castlederg today, and it’s those kind of temperatures that we’ll see through the week ahead as well,” the Met Office confirmed.
“So not expecting any rain, it won’t be sunny every single day, but there’ll be a mixture of cloud and sunny spells.
“I think for many days this week we’ll see some fairly lengthy spells of sunshine actually across Northern Ireland. As I say maybe a small chance of the odd shower on Thursday.”
The Met Office is predicting “uncharacteristically late frosty nights” in rural parts coupled with “above average” daytime highs of 17C as we approach the weekend.
The mercury almost reached that on Monday with the top temperature of 16.9C recorded in Castlederg, Co Tyrone.
It comes as preparations are underway for the North West 200 which attracts upwards of 150,000 visitors to the area to watch one of the largest motoring events in the UK and Ireland.
The motorcycling showcase will feature an 8.9-mile triangular circuit with qualifying rounds to commence on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Met Office expects temperatures for the track days to hold in the mid to late teens for a sunny week of racing, save for a few cloudy breaks.
Similar conditions will prevail for the finals on Saturday with western counties – Londonderry, Fermanagh and Tyrone – set to enjoy the warmest temperatures of up to 18C.
North West 200 competitors should be able to take advantage of low winds throughout the week with a maximum windspeed of 15mph expected to make for optimum racing conditions.
“For the weekend and the race in Portrush on Saturday as I say it’s looking dry, probably a little bit cloudy, but there’ll probably be a few breaks as well, so a few sunny intervals as well and temperatures in the mid to high teens,” the Met Office said.
“It might just pick up a little bit the breeze towards the end of the week but we’re not really expecting anything strong at all, just 10 to 15 mile per hour winds at the most, and for large parts of this week winds will be even less than that.
“So generally speaking with high pressure we don’t see much in the way of wind and Northern Ireland is quite close to the centre of the area of high pressure so that’s another reason why the winds will be light.”
Lauren Murphy, Aimee Magill and Emma McAlynn pictured at the annual May Day Student Races 2025 at Down Royal Racecourse. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.
News Catchup – Monday 5th May
Despite the unseasonably mild spell, the Met Office warned that some chilly nights can be expected with potential for some frost in the countryside.
A spokesperson said the “uncharacteristically late” icy blast could pose problems for gardeners.
“We are going to see some chilly nights through the week ahead, so there is a chance of some frost in the countryside, so that’s something for gardeners and growers to be aware of, which is just because it’s fairly late in the spring season to be seeing kind of frosts in for anywhere really,” they added.