Map shows where mini heatwave will hit UK with temperatures to reach 20C
Yesterday marked the official start of longer summer days, and for once the weather has decided to play ball.
As the clocks went forward giving us more daylight in the evenings, the Met Office forecast days of sunshine with the temperature set to rise as high as 20°C this week.
Meteorologist Marco Petagna said that we can even expect ‘wall to wall sunshine’ in England and Wales today, a welcome change that may finally let us top up our national Vitamin D stores.
Speaking yesterday, he said that once any early fog and frost has lifted it will be a very fine day.
‘With the sunshine here and light winds too, it’s feeling quite warm out and about, with temperatures again up to 16 or 17°C.’
Looking at the weather forecast for the week ahead in London looks more like it’s in Los Angeles, with only sun symbols and not a cloud to be seen.
Thursday and Friday are set to be the sunniest, with 19°C looking likely in areas from Cardiff to the capital, and the potential to hit 20°C.
South-east England is expected to see the warmest temperatures, with parts of south-west Scotland, the West Midlands, and north-west England also experiencing the peak of the warmth later in the week.
The rise in temperatures follows a brief period of unsettled weather on Friday and Saturday, which the Met Office described as occurring ‘in typical spring fashion’.
Despite the daytime warmth, clear skies at night could lead to chilly evenings and even rural frosts.
While it’s not an official heatwave, which would require much higher temperatures than are typically seen in spring, it’s still going to be very nice – and we’ll definitely be going out to enjoy it.
Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick explained that a high pressure weather pattern will dominate our weather this week in a ‘blocked weather pattern’.
She said: ‘While daytime temperatures will be warm next week, nights will still be chilly and there is still a chance we could see some rural overnight frosts under the clear skies.’
People were already making the most of the sunshine for Mother’s Day yesterday, with crowds flocking to parks and beaches and plonking themselves down in deckchairs.
While it’s going to be very sunny, the Met Office warned it could still be chilly by night, and ‘breezy at times around the coasts.’
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