After a period of unsettled skies, Britain is set to bask in sunshine once again this week, with temperatures soaring across much of the country with highs of 28C just days away
Drenched Brits won’t have to wait long at all for the rain to subside with sunshine ready to make a return within days, according to new weather maps.
The thunderstorms and soggy conditions are about to give way to more summery conditions, with highs of up for 28C ahead for some before long. Parts of the UK are soon expected be hit with another spell of hot weather with the gloomy conditions almost at an end – and another heatwave on the horizon. Weather maps are soon due to turn red as the mercury rises, forecasters suggest, and things could start to warm up as quickly as Thursday.
WX Charts has predicted weather fortunes could start to switch on July 24 as maps have started to change in southeastern England. Temperatures are set to peak at 25C near Oxford and London could get 24C weather on that day.
The heat is set to keep rising, and by Friday the weather maps turn darker with temperatures are set to peak at 28C at 6pm. Areas such as London and Birmingham will see the best of the conditions, with 22C predicted in the North East. But it is mixed news for the weekend.
Temperatures on Saturday are due to drop a little, but things will still stay warm. Kent is likely to see the best of the weather, and it could reach 28C in the county. There’s less sun predicted for Sunday, but London and the south east will see highs of 25C, with rain expected in the north.
The Met Office’s long range forecast has predicted that temperatures could vary throughout next week and added the North could be in store for cooler weather. The Met Office said: “Overall a rather more changeable pattern of weather through this period, compared to much of the summer thus far.”
A fourth heatwave of the summer is expected arrive before the end of the month as Brits are told to brace for even more intense heat. By Tuesday July 29, we will be switching on the fans again with the south east expecting the mercury to hit 31C.
Other areas, such as the west Midland and the north west, will see highs of 30. It is due to be even warmer on Wednesday July 30 with 32C forecast. Looking further ahead, the Met Office said in its long-range forecast – which goes up until August 19 – that “a weather regime dominated by westerly winds is likely to become established.”
The forecaster continued: “While showers or longer spells of rain will remain possible for all parts of the country, the focus of wet weather will likely be across the west and northwest, especially over hills where rain could be prolonged.”
It adds: “The highest chance of drier and sunnier weather is expected to the east of hills, and across south and eastern areas. Later in the period if high pressure builds into the southwest settled weather may develop there too. It will be breezy at times, especially in further north. Temperatures are most likely to be near to average for the time of year, with only a small chance of hot spells during late July and the start of August.”
It comes as the Environment Agency, which aims to help protect the UK environment, has warned England faces widespread drought conditions by September. The East and West Midlands have become the latest areas of England to fall into drought as the country struggles with the driest start to the year since 1976.
The declaration of drought status for the East and West Midlands means the region joins Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, and Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, which are already in drought. As it stands, there are four UK regions considered drought zones, and there could be an additional four within a matter of months, it says. The National Drought Group is set to meet later today to discuss the worsening situation.