A summer of sun!

Odds are slashed on this year being the hottest in a century

SCOTS have long been accustomed to less than balmy weather in the summer months.

So it will come as a welcome surprise than the country is set for an 86f (30c) hot summer – a good sign for the school holidays and T In The Park.

The Met Office long-range forecast – the most-anticipated verdict on summer weather – favours hotter-than-normal UK temperatures over the next three months, until the end of July.

However, there are warnings of hurricanes and flooding in August – due to the La Nina weather phenomenon.

The upbeat forecast is good news for Scotland’s school holidays from the end of June, T In The Park from July 8-10 at Strathallan Castle, Perthshire, and the Open Championship from July 10-17 at Royal Troon in Ayrshire.

Ladbrokes slashed its odds of this summer being the hottest in more than a century to 3/1. A spokesman said: ‘Punters reckon the sunshine will be here all summer.’

Scotland is set for a second heatwave next week, after the 79f (26c) temperatures of last week are followed by wet and colder weather today.

A Met Office forecaster said: ‘Unsettled weather is expected to affect the UK until at least the weekend, with heavy rain possible across the UK. There is a chance of warmer, drier weather developing across many parts in the following week.’

The Met Office three-month forecast said: ‘For May-July, above-average temperatures are slightly more probable than below-average.’

However, the Met Office has also reported hints of wetter than usual conditions and warned of wet and windy Atlantic low pressure, which often stems from tropical weather systems.

Government forecasters said La Nina – cold Eastern Pacific Ocean temperatures which whip up tropical North Atlantic hurricanes threatening Scotland at times – would be in place by August, the peak of the hurricane season.

Eight North Atlantic hurricanes – twice as many as last year – are forecast by the Met Office between next month and November.

Tropical storms crossing the Atlantic to cause floods in Britain in recent years include Hurricane Bertha, which helped make August 2014 the coldest for 20 years; September 2012’s ‘Child of Hurricane Nadine’ tempest; and September 2011’s Hurricane Katia. Major Scottish events which would be at risk from August storms include the Royal Military Tattoo and the Edinburgh Festival.

The Met Office long-range forecast is being briefed to Government, councils, transport chiefs and businesses.

Met Office climate scientist Joanne Camp said: ‘La Nina conditions can enhance tropical storm activity in the Atlantic.’

The Met Office three-month forecast said: ‘Seasonal prediction systems give a high probability for La Nina conditions by the end of the forecast period.

‘Past cases of La Nina show it slightly increases the chances of westerly winds, tending to bring near-or-below-average temperatures to the UK.

‘A signal for lower-than-normal pressure near the UK suggests an increased chance of wetter-than-average conditions. This shift is small. May-July’s chances of above-and below-average rainfall are fairly balanced.’

A spokesman said: ‘Many prediction systems are for La Nina conditions by the peak of the hurricane season.’