Exact dates hot weather to return with temperatures to reach high 20s in 'mini-heatwave'
17 May 2024, 06:13
Brits enjoyed a brief spell of sunshine over the weekend, after a spring that has largely felt colder and wetter than usual - and the hot weather is set to return.
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Temperatures could reach the mid-to-high 20s over the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May, forecasters believe.
And a high of 30C in some parts of the country is also possible - which would be a first for the year so far.
Weather charts suggest that a large stretch of southern England is set to enjoy the warmest weather between May 25 and May 29.
London, Brighton, Canterbury and Crawley are all among the towns that will be getting the hottest weather.
And further north in Scotland, the north-west of England and the north-east are also likely to be getting some warm weather over the period, with temperatures reaching the 20s.
James Madden of Exacta Weather said: "This is now likely to bring at least another several days of warm to hot conditions and could initially see temperatures rising into the mid to high 20s quite widely, and 30C or more can't be entirely ruled out in the hottest spots and for the first time this year.
"Additionally, there are also some very extreme runs for heat coming through for this final third of this month and into early June, and this particular period and weather scenario for a heatwave is something we have been covering for these exact dates over the past several months in our spring forecast and over the past several weeks in our summer forecast for around early June.
"We should be in full recognition of these high pressure rises across the UK and Ireland with some good cross-model agreement on this, which looks to be perfectly primed for arrival during next week and in time for the spring Bank Holiday weekend and to begin the meteorological summer and June at present."
The Met Office was more cautious about the period that includes the Bank Holiday weekend.
Forecasters said: "There is a lot of uncertainty in this period, even at the start when the UK will be in-between low pressure over the near continent trying to keep things unsettled and potentially thundery; high pressure to the west or southwest which would settle things down; and finally low pressure to the north or northwest which may being a more climatological split in conditions between the south and north.
"Overall though, one way or another, it looks like remaining fairly unsettled across much of the UK, with further rain, showers or even thunderstorms in places, though there will be some sunshine between times, the best of this possibly in southwestern parts. Both rainfall amounts and temperatures are likely to be a little above average, but some large spatial differences are likely."
