AS EXPECTED, with the children now back at school and the holidays officially over, summer has finally arrived in Fermanagh.
The county has literally been experiencing tropical weather this week, and according to the forecast, the heat is set to last until at least this weekend.
We are also experiencing a little taste of the desert, with a Saharan dust cloud sweeping up from Africa.
On Monday night this week, the country recorded a rare tropical September night, where the shaded air remained above 20 degrees all night long.
According to Kenneth McDonagh at the Ballyshannon-based Donegal Weather Channel, this was only the third time this has happened in 22 years, and only the seventh time on record in Ireland.
For context, in the UK the highest overnight minimum temperature ever recorded in September was 21.7 degrees, a record the Met Office expects to be broken this week. Indeed, it has predicted some parts of England could see temperatures of over 33 degrees in the days ahead.
Closer to home, Met Eireann has said the rest of this week will remain very warm, with temperatures not falling below 15-17 degrees at night, and day time temperatures set to reach as high as 26 degrees in the coming days.
This being Fermanagh, there are scattered showers on the horizon too, possibly turning thundery in the coming days, though temperatures are set to remain high.
Coming into the weekend, while it will be mostly dry and cloudy with top temperatures of around 25 degrees expected in places, there is also the possibility of some patchy rain.
There is also the possibility of some mist and fog, as well as haze from another weather phenomenon that has just arrived on our doorstep.
Mr McDonagh said the Saharan dust cloud, which was due to arrive over Ireland yesterday (Tuesday) would create hazy skies.
“This cloud will be thicker than previous events and will leave a coating of dust on cars and other surfaces,” he said.
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