A blast of cool Atlantic air is set to bring relief to the UK this week after three consecutive days of record-breaking June heat — but the reprieve may be short-lived, with forecasters warning another heatwave could strike by the weekend.
Last week, new June temperature records were set on three days running, culminating in 37.3C at Santon Downham in Suffolk, smashing the previous June record of 35.6C set in 1976. The area of high pressure that fuelled that blistering heat has now moved into eastern Europe, allowing temperatures to fall in the west.
“UK temperatures will drop this week after record June heat, but another heatwave may arrive by the weekend.”
South-westerly winds from the Atlantic have arrived, dropping temperatures and lowering humidity. On Monday, most places will be dry with sunny spells, but the highest temperatures will be in the Midlands and eastern England — a more comfortable 24 or 25C.
By Tuesday, an area of low pressure is set to bring showers or longer spells of rain, mainly to northern and western areas, with some heavy and thundery downpours possible. A second area of low pressure will arrive from the Atlantic later on Wednesday, steering further north so that rain and stronger winds are more likely in Northern Ireland than Scotland. That low pressure will move away to Scandinavia on Wednesday night, and Thursday should be dry after morning blustery showers in Scotland die out.
Throughout the week, pressure will be higher in the south, with south-eastern parts of England potentially missing out on the rain altogether. It could be a completely dry first week at Wimbledon. The highest temperatures of this week will also be in south-east England, reaching around 25 or 26C — above average for this time of year, but a far cry from the heat and humidity of last week.
By the weekend, however, high pressure may become more dominant again. An area of high pressure extending from the Azores could end up parked over the UK and parts of western Europe from the weekend and into early next week. It is not out of the question that this could turn into another heat dome with rapidly rising temperatures and more sunshine.
Some weather models are suggesting a similar weather pattern to the record-breaking heatwave in June, with more extreme forecast temperatures of 35C. While it is still a long way off, it is possible that the heatwave threshold will once again be triggered in south-eastern parts of the UK in early July.
What we do know is that heatwaves in the UK are becoming more intense and frequent due to human-induced climate change, the BBC reported.