Exact date UK to reach hottest day of the year again revealed, as September smashes temperature records

8 September 2023, 17:33

Brits have been roasting in temperatures of above 30C for five days in a row, and the hottest day of the year is likely still to come.

Met Office forecasters have predicted that the next hottest day of the year will be Saturday, which could see the mercury hit 33C in some places.

Thursday is currently the warmest day of 2023, when temperatures reached 32.6C in Wisley in Surrey, beating out Wednesday's record of 32C in Kew Gardens in west London.

The warmest it got on Friday was a positively chilly 30.9C in East Anglia.

But Friday's temperature means that this September has become the first on record with five straight days of temperatures above 30C.

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The Met Office said: "Today's provisional highest temperature was 30.9C at Cavendish, in Suffolk.

"This marks the 5th consecutive day when temperatures have exceeded 30C and is the first time this has ever happened in September in our records."

The unseasonably warm weather comes after a cool and wet July and August. Forecasters said the change was caused by the position of the jet stream in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Met Office's Neil Armstrong said: "An active tropical cyclone season in the North Atlantic has helped to amplify the pattern across the North Atlantic, pushing the jet stream well to the north of the UK, allowing some very warm air to be drawn north.

"It's a marked contrast to much of meteorological summer, when the UK was on the northern side of the jet stream with cooler air and more unsettled weather."

London mayor Sadiq Khan has issued an emergency response for the capital and the Met Office has given an amber heat alert for England until 9pm on Sunday, apart from the north-east which is under a yellow alert.

But some areas will see a dramatic end to the sunny spell this weekend.

A Met Office spokesman said: "While most places will stay dry, a few places may see heavy, slow moving showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and early evening.

"Where these develop, heavy downpours are possible with 30 to 50mm of rain possible in 1 to 2 hours or less. Large hail and lightning are likely additional hazards."