Politics
Britain to bake in 27C heatwave for next stage of lockdown lift – and will get even HOTTER
BRITAIN is set to sizzle in a 27C heatwave in time for the next stage of lockdown lifting.
The balmy temperatures are also expected to get even warmer, with 32C predicted for late May.
Read our UK weather live blog for the latest forecasts
Paddleboarders tackle the waves at Portrush Co-Antrim on Sunday[/caption]
People relax in the sunshine at Tower Bridge this afternoon[/caption]
Although, much to the disappointment of those making bank holiday plans, temperatures will stop at 15C for the long weekend next week – before rising to 27C mid-May.
A series of hot spells, each lasting up to a week, are expected just in time for May 17 – when hotels plan to reopen and overseas travel gets set to resume, The Weather Outlook has said.
Meanwhile, 30C sunshine at the start of June will set the scene nicely for when all restrictions are due to lift on June 21.
Temperatures are expected to grow even hotter later in the month, with a 33C scorcher on the way.
It comes as hot air blows in from the continent, with the Met Office declaring warmer-than-average weather three times more likely than cooler-than-average temperatures across April and June.
And even hotter temperatures could follow later in summer.
A Met Office forecaster said: “It is likely to continue settled, but with the chance of rain later in the next week.
“Into May, warmer days are most likely inland in the South and West.
“May 7-21 has the possibility of warmer spells, with fine periods, and showers at times.”
Last summer saw the longest “extreme heatwave” since records began in 1841, with 34C daily for six days in a row from August 7 to 12.
The sunny spell was an even longer run than 1976’s drought-hit summer which saw standpipes on the streets.
Until then, chilly northerly winds will end a cold April – made up for with fine spells during the Bank Holiday weekend and some showers.
It will follow the sunny weather up and down the UK today as Brits continued to flock to beaches and beer gardens.
Met Office forecaster Martin Bowles said: “There will be lots of sunshine on Sunday, although slightly more cloudy in the east.
“It will be a bright and dry day, while the west of the country will remain wall-to-wall sunshine.
“Over the next few days temperatures are going to be dropping a bit because they are above average for this time of year.”
And today’s forecast should maintain the trend of what has been one of the driest Aprils on record with the UK seeing less than a fifth of the average rainfall for the month so far.
The Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze said: “Highs pushing towards 27C are expected by mid-May, with 30C into June and 33C by the time July begins.
“Flares of heat from the continent are forecast.”
