Today, August 31st, marks the end of summer - meteorologically speaking - as the three hottest months of the year have now passed.

The weather has already begun to change with cooler temperatures and full, grey skies overhead in recent days.

That of course doesn't mean that the good weather is gone for the year.

Oh no, we are just about to get into the brightly coloured season of autumn where we still get plenty of sunshine and all that character in the countryside.

Why not join me, Panoramic Ireland to photograph in autumn, winter, spring or summer in Ireland.

Ireland has seen some weather in the past few weeks of summer 2021. A heatwave covered the island in a thick layer of warm air with temperatures regularly in the high 20s Celsius, even reaching 31.4C.

Then, the inevitable rainy weather where now, a week later, we are seeing rain and wind and unseasonably cold weather of 14 to 16 degrees Celsius.

Yet it's not all doom and gloom, the weather often gives landscape photographers a fine spectacle at sunset.

That's what we got tonight as a full day of rain cleared to give a cloudy sunset with spreading rays of orangey-red light across the sky. Quite an experience, initially we saw the rays of sunshine lighting up the landscape so turned to find the view obscured somewhat as we were photographing from behind a tall hedge; after spending some time and effort climbing through hawthorns and elder to get a clearer view of the final burst of colour in the sky and were not disappointed.

Join Panoramic Ireland, that's me, for a landscape photography adventure in the Irish countryside.

Summer in Ireland, it's a fine season - warm winds, long days and occasionally a heat that envelops everything. It isn't the first thing people think of when they think of Ireland; usually changeable conditions and rain is what comes to mind, not the 31C-plus temperatures that the island has seen in July 2021.

In most years there is a balance, warm days and mild nights; rain followed by sunshine and so on. This year we have had a cold and wet start to spring and summer, but the second half of July 2021 has made up for a lot of that with record breaking temperatures across the northern half of Ireland.

From a scenic drive through the Wicklow Mountains on a fine, summer's day.

The long and open road looks almost plonked down across the sloping, almost treeless landscape of the Irish countryside only 40 minutes from Dublin City.

This road, closed due to snow in winter and melting under scorching sun in the summer, is a fine example of the scenic drives in Ireland.

Join Panoramic Ireland for a photography tour/workshop/experience in the scenic Irish countryside in 2021, 2022 and beyond.

July 2021 has brought some interesting weather to the island of Ireland with a new record for Northern Ireland set in Armagh at 31.4 degrees Celsius. Unusually for summer, Ireland has had warmer temperatures than neighbouring Britain for much of the month and a 'Tropical Night' was recorded when night-time temperatures didn't drop below 20C.

So far the hottest place has been Armagh with a recorded temperature of 31.4 Celsius on July 22nd 2021.

Known as the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland, with both the heads of the Catholic Church and Church of Ireland being based in the city founded by Saint Patrick in 444AD, Armagh sits in a drumlin belt (hills created by the movement of ice across the landscape) that stretches across Ireland from County Down on the Irish Sea to County Mayo on the Atlantic.

Here, overlooking the City of Saints and Scholars, both of Armagh's cathedrals dedicated to the patron saint of Ireland can be seen in the green landscape of the lush Irish summer countryside. In the distance the twin peaks of Sawel and Dart in the Sperrins - a mountain range running through Tyrone and Derry.

Today's temperature of 31.4C is one of three record breaking days with the 1983 record of 30.8C being edged out, first by Ballywatticock in County Down, then Castlederg in County Tyrone.

Join Panoramic Ireland on a private, guided photography tour in Ireland, including Armagh.