Weather: Heatwave for north coast from Tuesday

Temperatures are expected to reach the mid 20s later in the week

And from the north coast to north Down traders are gearing up to make hay while the sun shines with temperatures expected to be a sizzling 23 degrees and above from Tuesday until the weekend.

At Morelli’s - the famous ice-cream shop in Portstewart - the 99s and sundaes are expected to be in big demand.

The Met Office says the outlook for Tuesday to Thursday in Northern Ireland is occasional rain at first on Tuesday but often dry and becoming very warm in any sunshine.

However, with the heat there could also be scattered heavy and thundery showers developing later on Tuesday, then Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

Sunseekers are set to flock to beaches around Northern Ireland and in Portstewart ice cream speciallists Morelli’s are expecting a busy period.

Supervisor Amy Platt said: “We are really much ready with it being the start of the summer and the timing could not be much better with the schools getting out.”

She said honeycomb will continue to be a big favourite but they have other new flavours like parma violet for customers seeking to cool down.

Temperatures in Northern Ireland are expected to stay round the 23C mark through until next weekend when heavy showers are predicted.