Heatwave: Hottest September temperature on record broken in Castlederg

Sunset in Ballycastle, County Antrim, pictured by Anne Kelly

It's been the hottest September day on record in Northern Ireland, with 28C recorded at Castlederg in County Tyrone.

This breaks the previous record of 27.6 Celsius on 1 September 1906 in Armagh.

The highest temperature recorded on the island of Ireland in September - also from 1906 - is is 29.1C, in County Kildare.

Friday is expected to be the peak of the September heatwave as temperatures will gradually fall this weekend.

However, it will still be warm and humid, with thundery showers expected in places.

On Thursday, we missed out on breaking the September maximum temperature record by less than half a degree.

Magilligan in County Londonderry reported a high of 27.3C.

A beautiful sunset in County Down, as seen by Craig Gamble

Plenty of people took to Belfast City Hall to enjoy the sunshine

Beaches across Northern Ireland were also busy

There is a chance of a thundery showers on Friday, but they will be very isolated compared with Thursday.

On Thursday, there were several reports of thunder, lightning and torrential downpours during the afternoon and early evening.

Lightning at sunset over the Sperrin mountains, by Rachel Cassidy

Derrylin in County Fermanagh recorded 21mm of rain in less than an hour between 17:00 BST and 18:00 BST. Isolated, large hail was also in the mix.

Next week, normal service resumes as temperatures return to the seasonal average both by day and by night, so at least there are some cooler nights to look forward to.

Tom Gilroy captured the lightning in Boho, County Fermanagh

Meanwhile in the Republic of Ireland, a status yellow warning remains in place, with daytime temperatures predicted to reach 27C in some areas.

Met Éireann has warned of the risk of heat stress and uncomfortable sleeping conditions.

The warning, issued on Wednesday, is in place until 08:00 BST on Saturday.