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A plucky dip as UK gets last of summer
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SAUCY bathers made the most of one of the last blasts of sunshine yesterday.
They stripped off for a spot of skinny dipping as the UK became hotter than the south of France.
A September heatwave saw temperatures hit 22C.
Sunseekers dashed to the beaches, topped up their tans or lit autumn barbies.
The welcomed weather came off the back of a Spanish warm front.
In Druridge Bay, Northumberland, the skinny dippers took an early morning swim as the sun rose.
And lifeguards were out in force keeping beach-goers safe in Weymouth, Dorset.
Britain’s motorways were also packed as trippers capitalised on the rare September conditions.
Forecaster Brian Gaze said: “It’s been summer’s final flourish.”
Tesco expected to sell 350,000 packets of sausages, 2million bottles of beer and 1.5m bottles of wine as Brits made the most of the balmy weekend.
Stormy
But the fun in the sun is set to end abruptly this week as stormy weather and winds of up to 95mph arrive on Friday.
The heat is set to last until around Wednesday with the mercury staying around the 21C mark.
But the 125mph winds of Hurricane Maria, which killed 32 in the Caribbean, are forecast to merge with Hurricane Lee north of Bermuda and eventually pass north of Scotland.
The monster combination is likely to bring “wet and windy” weather towards the end of the week, according to Met Office forecasters.
The Weather Company has warned of a “worst case” scenario of fierce winds and rain deluges threatening Britain.
Forecaster Leon Brown said: “Maria looks like being caught in the jet stream and swinging towards the UK as a deep depression.
“The worst case would be strong winds and heavy rain.”
Previous hurricane-based storms which hit Britain include August 2014’s Hurricane Bertha, with 94mph gusts and floods, and September 2011’s Hurricane Katia, when 98mph gusts caused one death and widespread travel chaos. The Government will give the hurricane-ravaged island of Dominica £5m in UK aid, the International Development Secretary Priti Patel has announced.
She was due to visit the Caribbean yesterday during a whistlestop tour.