HEAT WAVE BYE BYE TO THE LOCKDOWN
33C highs for seven days at a time..
BRITAIN will be sizzling as lockdown eases, with 27C temperatures next month – rising to 33C soon after.
The Met Office has started briefing councils and transport chiefs to prepare for heatwaves into June.
A series of hot spells, each lasting up to a week, are expected, The Weather Outlook said.
The good news came as people basked in spring sunshine yesterday.
Sunny spells are due for the early May bank holiday weekend and temperatures of 27C are forecast to cheer millions as lockdown eases on the 17 of the month.
On that date, hotels and B&Bs reopen, more than six people will be allowed to meet outdoors, pubs will allow their customers indoors, two households can mix in homes, and overseas trips are set to resume.
Sizzles will come as June 21 marks the end of lockdown restrictions on social contact, with any number of people being allowed to mix and nightclubs reopening.
Hot air will blow in from the continent, bringing much warmer than average temperatures in June.
Almost all of Britain has a 6080% chance of warmer than usual temperatures across May to July, a Met Office forecast model map shows. Even higher temperatures could follow later in the summer.
Last summer saw the longest “extreme heatwave” since records began in 1841, with 34C daily for six days in a row from August 7 to
12 – an even longer run than
1976’s drought-hit summer which led to standpipes on the streets.
Chilly northerly winds will end a cold April but at least it will be sunny, with fine spells as we head into the bank holiday weekend and some showers.
The Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze said: “Highs pushing towards 27C are expected by mid-May, with 30C into June and
33C by the time July begins. “Flares of heat from continent are forecast.”
The Met Office’s April to June outlook says: “Warm conditions are almost twice as likely as normal over the three-month period, raising the potential for heatwaves later in the period.”
A Met Office forecaster added: “It is likely to continue settled, but with the chance of rain later in the next week.
“Into May, warmer days are most likely inland in the South and West.
“May 7 to 21 has the possibility of warmer spells, with fine periods and showers at times.” the