Gloucester del Sol? UK hotter than Costas

SOARING temperatures are expected to sweep across Britain over the weekend, making parts of the country hotter than the Spanish Costas.

Forecasters say southern England could see the warmest day of the year so far, with the mercury potentially hitting 25C (77F) by Sunday, a degree above Malaga on the Costa del Sol.

Temperatures will start to rise from today, with figures in the low-20s Celsius (high-60s Fahrenheit) possible across England and Wales, and a maximum of 23C (73F) in the South East.

And tomorrow is due to be even hotter, with a top temperature of 24C (75F), before the warmest weather arrives to finish off the weekend across the South.

Up until now, the highest UK temperature of the year has been 23.6C (74.5F), recorded in Faversham, Kent, on May 6 – meaning tomorrow and Sunday could consecutively be 2022’s hottest days yet.

But the warm air, drawn north from the continent, is due to bring thundery showers moving north on Saturday evening and into Sunday, which could see almost an inch of rain falling in just three hours.

Stephen Dixon, of the Met Office, said it was due to be a ‘largely fine and dry day for England and Wales’ today.

But he warned: ‘Later on Saturday and into Sunday morning, some thundery showers are possible in the South.’

And he said that into next week, there is the ‘threat of some unsettled weather in the North and West’. South-East England could hang on to the sunny weather until Monday or Tuesday.