Heat waves are coming for some – but there’s a caveat

Heatwaves are likely to descend on parts of the UK next week in a short-lived burst of sunshine after a drizzly spring, forecasters said. Most of the UK “will experience the best conditions and highest temperatures so far this year”, and some isolated weather stations could see temperatures reach 30 degrees Celsius, the Met Office said.

Warmer temperatures are set to arrive early next week and “many places” are forecast to reach the mid 20s, with heatwaves forecast in central and southern parts of the country. It marks a break from the wet spring, which saw 32% more rainfall than average in England and Wales, making it the fifth wettest for England and the eighth wettest on record for Wales, the Met Office said.

However, the heat is only expected to last until Wednesday, with heavy showers, thunderstorms and lingering rain possibly returning to the west as the week progresses. The wet weather has come in from the Atlantic and a high pressure system is expected to stop it for a few days.

Operational Meteorologist Honor Criswick said: “As we head into next week we are starting to see some hotter spells but it will be quite short. It’s going to be a short hot spell, but maybe a start to summer that I’m sure a lot of people have been waiting for.”

Despite the wet weather, it was the warmest May and spring ever recorded in Britain. The average temperature was 13.1C, beating the previous record of 12.1C in 2008. Ms Criswick said “a lot of people couldn’t believe it when the spring statistics came out”, but added they were in partly influenced by higher overnight temperatures.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Dan Rudman said on Friday: “After a short and less settled interlude today and tomorrow, good conditions will return by Sunday and early next week. Regardless of whether everyone is on the brink of heatwaves, most of the UK will experience the hottest temperatures so far this year.

“Confidence in the forecast drops significantly from Wednesday onwards, with uncertainty over both how long the heat will last and how it will break, which we will keep an eye on over the coming days. However, by next weekend cooler and changeable conditions are becoming more likely.”