More than 30 cities across the UK are set to be hit by a ‘mini-heatwave’ with temperatures going up to 26C in places. WXCharts has forecast the hot weather to arrive in a fortnight (June 4), hitting much of England from the midlands to the south coast.
It will be hottest in the south east, reaching 26C in London, Crawley, and Royal Tunbridge Wells. Areas which will see 25C include Norwich, Peterborough, Reading, Luton and Lincoln. The heat will grow throughout the morning, peaking at 1pm and lasting until about 7pm. It could drop as low as 7C in the north of England and parts of Scotland. It will be quite windy throughout the day, with gusts reaching 40mph in Manchester, Liverpool, Brighton, and Ipswich. The heat will persist for at least nine days, with weather maps turning red from May 29 to June 6.
Cities that will reach temperatures of 23C and higher include Birmingham, Cambridge, Canterbury, Chelmsford, Chichester, Colchester, Coventry, Derby, Doncaster, Ely, Gloucester, Kingston-upon-Hull, Leicester, Lichfield, Lincoln, London, and Milton Keynes.
Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Salisbury, Southampton, St Albans, Stoke-on-Trent, Westminster, Winchester, Wolverhampton, Worcester, and Wrexham are also set to hit those highs. The rest of the country will sit mainly in the mid-teens, from 14C to 18C.
The Met Office said of the period: “Sunshine and blustery showers for much of the UK on Bank Holiday Monday, with the heaviest and most frequent showers in the northwest.
“The southeast will likely end up driest and brightest. Temperatures are expected to vary from below normal in the northwest to above normal in the southeast.
“Through the rest of this period, changeable conditions are expected with weather systems moving in from the Atlantic, these bringing outbreaks of rain and strong winds at times.
“Wettest conditions are likely to be in the west and northwest, conditions driest in the sheltered east and southeast. Some dry, bright interludes are likely between systems. Temperatures are expected to be close to average or slightly above.”
Today:
A band of cloud and occasional drizzle will move south through the day across England and Wales. Elsewhere it will remain largely dry with bright or sunny spells, though the far northeast of Scotland may see a few scattered showers.
Tonight:
Many places will remain dry with clear spells. A few fog patches will develop across the south by dawn. Feeling rather chilly with a rural frost, especially in the north.
Friday:
Largely dry with some sunshine after a chilly start on Friday. Cloud increasing from the west during the afternoon and evening, with a freshening wind.
Outlook for Saturday to Monday:
Generally unsettled with a band of rain clearing eastwards Saturday and Sunday. Sunny spells and showers following Monday, these locally thundery. Rather windy at times with near normal temperatures.