Heatwave on way as hot summer forecast
WEATHER EXPERTS SAY END OF THIS WEEK WILL BE A SCORCHER
THE UK is set for a summer sizzler over the next fortnight as temperatures look set to soar towards 30C (86F). It is thought the mercury will shoot up as a plume of hot air sweeps in from Italy and France.
Some forecasters are saying the summer, which government experts have already said could be hotter than average, will bring a succession of heat blasts. It seems as though August could be the hottest month.
James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather, said: “The overall summer forecast is now pointing towards at least four or five major heatwaves.
“These will build throughout the summer months but, at the moment, August looks the most likely to bring these blasts of very hot weather. The first major spell of summer could arrive as soon as late May.”
The Met Office’s three-month outlook published at the start of May predicts the probability of hot weather this summer to be double that of normal years. It also warns of ‘impacts from heatwaves’ through the next three months with only a 10 per cent chancer of a cooler than average season.
The sizzling summer looks set to come as Britons prepare to slap on suncream with thermometers about to rocket this month. After a ‘pleasant’ weekend ahead sees temperatures lift to around 20C, the mercury will simmer to flashpoint.
Sun-lovers should get t-shirts and sun cream ready for the first red-hot blast towards the end of this week. British Weather Services’ meteorologist Jim Dale said: “Ahead of next weekend, the weather turns from warm to very warm or even hot.
“We could see temperatures nudge past the mid-20Cs towards 26C in the run up to mid-month. A warm plume of air will sweep around high pressure over the UK, arriving from the Continent, from France and Italy.”