Get the barbie back out, a heatwave’s on the way

BROLLIES may have been out around the country yesterday but the good news is that forecasters predict a heatwave is coming.

While the showers were a welcome relief for gardeners and farmers following a very dry April, temperatures will start rising again from the weekend.

They will peak at 25C (77F) or 26C (78.8F) in the South in the latter half of next week – and the barbecue weather should continue into the following weekend, with the North also experiencing temperatures in the low-20s.

Many parts of the country will bask in the hottest conditions of the year so far.

MeteoGroup forecaster Donal Considine said a surge of warm air would be drawn up from the south as a result of high pressure hovering over central Europe.

‘We’ll get a day-on-day increase in temperatures as warm air is pulled up from North Africa and Spain because of the direction of the winds,’ he added. ‘So next week there is the potential for maximum temperatures 4-5C (7-9F) above average.’

The UK’s hottest day so far was on Good Friday, when 23.4C (74.1F) was recorded in St James’s Park in central London.

But London and the South East can expect at least 24C (75.2F) from Wednesday onwards and it could keep getting hotter, with 26C (78.8F) possible.

Today, the South will see temperatures of 21C (69.8F) while the North can expect 19C (66.2F) in most places.

It will be slightly cooler tomorrow before up to nine days of T-shirt weather.

Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna predicted it could even get ‘very warm’ towards the end of this month.

The Met Office’s three-month summer outlook predicts an ‘increase in the likelihood of warmer-than-average conditions in the month ahead’.

It adds: ‘Predictions are consistent in suggesting an increase in the likelihood of temperatures being above average overall.

‘While this doesn’t necessarily mean heatwaves will occur, it does increase the likelihood of heatwaves compared to normal.’

Exacta Weather’s James Madden said: ‘There is now the potential for a major spell of warm weather to develop during the latter part of May or early June.’

The Met Office defines a heatwave as an extended period – at least three consecutive days – of much hotter than normal weather.