Parts of the UK could experience a heatwave with temperatures set to soar this weekend and next week, the Met Office has warned.
The southeast, in particular London and in the home counties, could reach 30°C on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Clear spells are forecast for Sunday, which the weatherman described as “a nice, dry day for many.” Temperatures are expected to reach 25C in the northeast. Yorkshire This is the northern limit in terms of the area likely to reach “heatwave criteria”, the Met said, with temperatures of 25C continuing until early next week.
Saturday is expected to be sunny with showers, heaviest in parts of Scotland and the north. EnglandWales and the Midlands, and isolated thunderstorms are possible.
Heatwave criteria are met when a location records at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold, which varies by county.
Earlier this month, temperatures in the UK reached their highlight of the year so farwith 31.9°C recorded in St James’s Park in central London.
According to the Met Office, this high pressure will bring clear skies and sunshine across the UK, which at this time of year will see temperatures gradually increase day by day.
It is unclear, however, how long this warmer weather will last.
David Hayter, Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “Over the weekend the jet stream will weaken to the west of the UK, generating an area of high pressure which will slowly move across the UK.
“High pressure means air is sinking from higher up in the atmosphere, leading to drier, more settled and sunnier weather. There is a bit more patchy cloud in Northern Ireland, southern and western Scotland and the Northern Isles, so temperatures will be lower there.”
Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst warned that despite the warm weather, water temperatures could be much lower. “Remember at this time of year the water is still quite cold, around 16, 17, 18C. It’s not like the Mediterranean, where it’s much warmer,” he said.
Tom Morgan, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said the heat was because “the days are longer at this time of year, we are only a month away from the summer solstice and when the weather is nice temperatures are rising because the earth is retaining more heat than it is losing at night”.