Putting dampener on things

FORECASTERS SAY RUMOURS OF HEATWAVE ARE WISHFUL THINKING

Reporter YOU may have heard Britain is set for a 10-day heatwave in the middle of May and a ‘Beauty from the East’ will bring sweltering conditions from continental Europe.

If you think that sounds too good to be true after last week’s heatwave, you’d be right.

Lightning, or in this case heatwave-level temperatures, is not set to strike twice in quick succession, according to experts from the Met Office and Weather Channel.

Some reports say a ‘Beauty from the East’ will bring sizzling sunshine next week, with above average temperatures for the start of May.

And then they say we are set for a 10-day heatwave during the middle part of the month.

We asked weather forecasters if that’s the case. So are we getting a 10-day heatwave in May?

It is very unlikely that Newcastle – or Britain for that matter – can expect Mediterranean-like temperatures during the middle part of May.

The Chronicle asked Met Office spokesperson Nicola Maxey if the reports of a 10-day heatwave are true.

“It’s not something we’re talking about,” said Nicola.

“Currently we’re looking at a mix of conditions through the month of May, with dry spells and also rain showers.”

So in other words, May is set to be like May.

Changeable weather systems will come from the Atlantic in the west, which means wind, rain and settled spells in between, Nicola told The Chronicle.

She added: “There’s nothing that indicates anything other than temperatures around average for that time of year.”

The Met Office’s long-term forecast for May 10 to May 24 says the north could get a dry and bright spell of weather, with SLIGHTLY above-average temperatures.

But, its confidence in the forecast is “low”, which means the weather service is nowhere near certain that the slightly warmer temperatures will even happen.

It adds: “Mixed weather with showers or longer periods of rain remain possible.” The Weather Channel says a weather front will bring some warmer spells to the UK, but claims of a heatwave in early or mid-May are “wide of the mark”.

Forecaster Eleanor Bell said: “I think this is over the top, we are expecting temperatures to rise from the middle of next week but only to average levels, maybe slightly above normal for the time of year.

“It will be sunshine and showers with temperatures around 12 to 16C.”

Heatwaves occur when there is a five-day spell of temperatures which are 5C higher than the average highs for that time of year. In May, Newcastle’s average May high is 12.7C.

Oh well, are we at least getting a warm May Day Bank Holiday weekend? Not really, sorry. The Met Office says we can expect “mixed weather” over the May 5 to May 7 Bank Holiday weekend. Central and eastern parts of Britain can expect drier conditions. But, as is the case for most of May, it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

“At the moment it’s looking normal. There’s also a chance of more rain,” added Nicola from the Met Office.

In addition, part of the North could even wake up to frost on some mornings next week.

The Weather Channel expects a “mixture of sunshine and showers” across the three-day weekend.