Forget the political doom and gloom... SUMMER’S ON WAY AT LAST
3 months of glorious heat say experts
BRITONS can look forward to basking in a long and hot summer, it was revealed yesterday.
A plume of air from the tropical Atlantic will send temperatures soaring as a mini heatwave grips the country from tomorrow.
James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather, said the mercury could nudge 86F (30C) over the next couple of days.
He said: “It is safe to say that summer is about to arrive for the UK and it won’t be a flash in the pan.”
The Met Office’s three-month outlook predicts above-average temperatures through to September. Its experts say
higher than normal sea temperatures around the UK will help drive warmer weather over the next three months. It comes as a plume of warm air from Portugal and the Azores Islands gears up to send the mercury soaring this week.
Mr Madden added: “Heat surges and Spanish pluming from the near Continent are likely to feature prominently throughout the summer.
“There will be some mixed, cooler weather at times and some vigorous and widespread thunderstorm activity with hefty hail showers in the mix.
“However, despite these unsettled periods, it is of the highest confidence that multiple and major heat surges will occur over the next three months.
“We expect the alternating warm to hot periods to carry the overall summer temperatures to above average for the 2017 season.”
Tropical
Met Office forecaster Oli Claydon said tomorrow is likely to bring the peak of the warmth with the highest temperatures expected around the South and South-east. He said: “We expect temperatures into the high 20Cs across the region with Scotland and the North looking at the low 20Cs.
“Although temperatures will dip tomorrow and towards the weekend there are signs they will go up again on Saturday. The warmer weather is due to high pressure building to the South bringing warm tropical maritime air across the country.”
Exacta Weather said a “significant change” to warmer weather across the UK this week could bring the highest temperatures of the year so far.
Mr Madden said: “By the end of this week could see temperatures approaching the high 20Cs at least in parts of the South. Elsewhere will see temperatures towards the mid-20Cs in the best of the sunshine. Even 30C or more is not out of the question at times and it is plausible that we will see the warmest temperatures of the year so far.”
Met Office figures reveal England saw the second warmest spring on record largely thanks to the hot May weather.
It said temperatures across Britain were around 1.4C above average through the season. For the UK as whole the past three months are likely to rank among the warmest five springs in records going back to 1910.
The highest temperature so far this year was 84.92F recorded in Lossiemouth, Moray, at the end of last month. Jim Dale, forecaster for British Weather Services, said temperatures over the next few days could come close. He said: “We are expecting 82F or 84.2F in the South with temperatures in the mid 20Cs further north.”
He added: “Looking further ahead and it is not going to take much to push us into heatwave-type weather, and this is going to be the hallmark of the next month or so.”
The Met Office’s three-month contingency planner predicts hot weather through to September, stating: “In the North Atlantic Ocean, sea surface temperatures close to the UK are above normal, increasing the chances of higher-than-average temperatures.”
THE Met Office has predicted a summer of warm weather. The prospect of enjoying barbecues, wolfing down ice creams and whiling away lazy afternoons in the sunshine is just what we need to lift our spirits after all this political turmoil.
Won’t it be nice to listen to the bees buzzing instead of the politicians droning on?