Only just cooled off? Get set for sizzling sun again

JUST when you thought it was safe to pack away the suncream... the hot weather is set to return with a vengeance.

A plume of hot air is coming our way straight from Spain – which saw record high temperatures of 47C (117F) on Thursday.

While it may cool down a bit by the time it hits our shores, we will still be basking in 32C (89F) heat by midweek.

The Meteorological Office says the settled and increasingly hot weather will move in from tomorrow as an Atlantic weather system draws warm air from the South.

Grahame Madge, of the Met Office, said: ‘On Tuesday and Wednesday we are likely to have warm air coming in from Spain and we’ll be looking at temperatures in the region of the high 20s or low 30s Celsius. We could potentially see a high of 32C (89F).’

The mini-heatwave is caused by the ‘Spanish plume’ effect, where the atmospheric flow between a low pressure system west of Britain and a high pressure system draws air north.

The hot spell will follow days of changeable weather, which even stopped play at Wimbledon.

The last of the rain is likely to fall today, mostly in the north of England and Wales. Showers are also possible further south.

But as temperatures peak, the balmy weather could have a sting in the tail – in the form of thunder. Mr Madge added: ‘Thundery showers are likely to develop through Tuesday night into Wednesday.’

Last month Britain sizzled in its hottest June day since 1976, when the mercury hit 33.9C (94F) in Heathrow, west London. Earlier this week, the bookies slashed odds on the highest ever temperature recorded in the UK – 38.5C (101F) in 2003 – being broken in August, with parts of the South tipped to hit 40C.