Parts of the UK are set to boil as temperatures soar to 37C in a matter of weeks. Southeastern regions will record the highest spike in the mercury from Saturday, August 9, to Tuesday, August 12, as heatwave conditions sweep the country for what could be the fourth time this summer. Weather maps from WXCharts and NetWeather show highs of 27C near Oxford and the Welsh border on August 9, climbing to 34C in some areas on August 10 and peaking at 37C around Nottingham and Leicester in the East Midlands on August 11.
The above average temperatures of up to 27C are set to continue, particularly in southeast England until August 12, potentially meeting the Met Office’s criteria for a heatwave – defined as a period of at least three consecutive days where the daily temperature exceeds a regional threshold. While northern parts of the UK are less likely to experience near-40C highs next month, Scotland could be set for above-average temperatures of around 23C, with Newcastle and Middlesbrough also recording up to 27C.
Ireland is also set to record temperatures of up to 25C on August 10, with the mercury shooting up to 34C in Wales, with the hottest weather expected southwest of the country, in Pembrokeshire.
The hot weather pattern looks set to primarily impact southern regions, particularly along the coast, after moving over from mainland Europe, which will roast with temperatures of around 40C at around the same time.
High pressure jet streams from the continent have so far ushered in three separate heatwaves this summer, with temperatures peaking at 25.8C in Faversham, Kent, on July 1.
Conditions have taken a more turbulent turn in the weeks since, with thunderstorms and flash flooding experienced across the country – but August, traditionally the UK’s second hottest month, could signal a return to form for seasonal weather.
The Met Office’s long-range forecast, covering the first week-and-a-half of August, similarly predicts that high pressure in the southwest and east will maintain “dry and fine weather” early next month.
While Scotland and Northern Ireland could initially experience “unsettled and conditions and breezy winds”, sunny and dry weather will become widespread as the month continues and “high pressure to the southwest extends across the country”, the forecaster says.
BBC Weather also says temperatures are likely to “climb above or even well above average” in early August, and could indicate a return to “drier and calmer” spells across the UK, with low pressure patterns “confirmed to far northern and far north-western Europe” later in the month.