Britain has said the 28C heatwave is looming with the “exact date” to start announced

The UK is set to experience a heatwave from “mid-May”, with highs of 28 degrees “likely”, according to a weather expert and forecaster. Jim Dale, senior weather consultant at the British Weather Services, said we had seen “increased heat and increased humidity” recently.

Speaking after the first bank holiday weekend in May, Mr Dale explained: “For now, we’re stuck – generally speaking – under less pressure than we’d like. Therefore, this bank holiday weekend and immediately after, we are at the mercy of further showers, further storms.” But Mr Dale expects it will still be “dry weather” over the next few days and it could warm up next week.

He told us: “There is an indication that it will start to warm up by Thursday (May 9). We have three days I think, Thursday, Friday, Saturday next week, (it looks like it will be) dry, probably sunny, probably pleasant – universally so and by that I mean 21C, 22C, 23C.

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“So we’re back in the low, maybe even mid-20C.” He said: “In terms of hot weather, anything in the 27C, 28C range, we haven’t got to this part of the mid-month period at the moment.

“It’s becoming more and more likely in the second half of the month, for common sense reasons. If we have a dry spell, there’s every chance we’ll get to 25C, 26C quite easily. But for that we need a flow to south, we need something coming from Spain or Algeria”.

Looking ahead this week, Netweather TV explained on Tuesday (May 7): “A quieter day on Tuesday as high pressure starts to build. There will be sunny spells and variable amounts of cloud, which will tend to be shallow convective cloud which will tend to fill the sky and produce some showers in more northern and western areas, although generally brighter than on Monday.

“The best of the sun in the eastern areas. Where the sun comes out, pleasantly warm, with temperatures reaching 16-19 C, maybe 20 C in a few places”. And on Wednesday he added: “The high pressure becomes more established on Wednesday so most places should stay dry, not wall to wall sunshine, however, while there will be sunny spells for many, cloud will bubble up and fill the sky in places . , maybe thick enough for a light shower, but in most places temperatures reach 17-20C.