Hottest May day since 1944!

Blazing start to the Bank Holiday could see record 91F

A GLORIOUS blast of weekend sunshine could deliver the hottest May temperatures since the Second World War.

A plume of warm continental air means it may hit 30C (86F) on Saturday, making it by far the hottest day of the year so far.

Forecasters said it will be the highest May temperature since 2010 – and could even beat the record- breaking 32.8C ( 91F) logged on May 29, 1944.

It tops off a week in which Britons have basked in balmy weather usually only seen at the height of summer.

But forecasters warned that the sunshine could be dramatically cut short by thunderstorms over the Bank Holiday.

Met Office forecaster Emma Sharples said: ‘Temperatures are going to be climbing day to day over the next few days. ‘At the moment it’s looking like we are definitely going to get the highest temperatures of the year so far.’

According to Met Office reports from the time, May 1944 was a month of extremes.

As war raged, severe frosts hit in the middle of the month, but by the 29th temperatures soared to 32.8C in central London, Horsham in West Sussex and Tunbridge Wells, Kent, aided by a vast high pressure system over Britain.

Today’s hot weather is also down to high pressure, as well as warm, dry air being pushed across continental Europe. However, the heatwave will probably not continue into June, as Met Office long-range forecasts suggest the beginning of next month will feel like a more typical start to British summertime, with showery outbreaks of rain and cool temperatures. Next week, the North and West likely to see the worst of the wind and rain, while the South East will hold on to dry, bright and warm conditions with the odd thunderstorm.

Meanwhile, experts are predicting a weekend of traffic chaos as more than 20million drivers hit the roads for the Bank Holiday.

Families will spend 23 per cent longer in the car than usual, with Friday afternoon seeing the worst of the weekend traffic, says analysis from the sat nav app Waze.

However, it’s not all bad news – grocers say the recent bout of warm weather has provided the perfect growing conditions for this year’s crop of British strawberries.

The season started yesterday, with growers predicting a 6 per cent increase in production of the fruit over the summer.