Brits are bracing for another spell of scorching weather, with the Met Office warning that temperatures could climb to 30C in parts of the country by the end of the week.
Southern England is expected to bear the brunt of the heat, with forecasters saying the mercury could reach 28C in London on Thursday and push even higher by Friday. Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick said: “By Thursday we’re looking at around 28C in London, so certainly pushing into the high 20s.”
“Met Office warns UK could hit 30C by Friday as high pressure brings warm, humid conditions.”
The heat is being driven by high pressure building across the UK, pulling warm air up from continental Europe. But this time, forecasters caution, the warmth will come with more cloud and humidity than the previous heatwave.
“Throughout the week things are heating up in the south and South East,” Criswick said. “We’ve got high pressure starting to build and there’s a warm plume moving up through continental Europe. Whether or not it’ll be a heatwave remains to be seen as there’s still a lot to play for, but things are certainly turning a lot warmer, if not maybe even hot, by the end of the week, although this is mostly confined to the South East.”
Met Office forecaster Kathryn Chalk echoed that view, saying: “We’re definitely seeing a warming trend from midweek onwards.” She added: “Relatively warm and humid nights are also on the cards – not as expected as what we had a few weeks ago, because it won’t be wall-to-wall sunshine like that, we had a stronger signal for that compared to this, but nevertheless it is going to be turning warmer.”
The warm-up begins from Wednesday, when south-east England could see temperatures around 27C, with further surges on Thursday and Friday. While cloud cover might prevent thermometers from reaching their full potential, forecasters say there is a chance of 30C being recorded by Friday. That would make parts of the UK warmer than Los Angeles, where highs are expected to be around 22.4C – the same as in Kent on Saturday.
Not everyone will bask in the sunshine, however. The Met Office warns that other areas will warm up but remain cloudy, with rain and showers likely in some places. Monday is expected to be dry and settled in many areas, but cooler in the North East with a chance of thunderstorms. Tuesday could bring further rain from the coast.
Looking further ahead, the Met Office’s long-range forecast for Monday June 29 to Monday July 13 said: “High pressure is expected to lie close to the UK at the start of this period, bringing plenty of dry, settled weather. Temperatures will likely be above normal, with the potential for hot conditions, accompanied by occasional thunderstorms, especially in the south. Towards mid July, the influence of high pressure may weaken or shift more to the north or west of the UK, bringing an increasing chance of unsettled weather.”