A scorching 26°C on the way, hotter than Athens and Barcelona
Temperatures will rise dramatically in the UK at the end of the week, with forecasters predicting a high of 26⁰C in the South East on Friday. Britain experienced a cold snap in early May, with northerly winds bringing arctic air into the country, but the Met Office is now predicting steady sunshine and warm weather across England and Wales until the weekend. The forecast made by the Met Office, alongside the Weather Comparison report at the BBC, highlights that the UK can expect warm temperatures as well as steady sunshine for the bank holiday weekend.Cold weather was felt in Britain for most of May. Daytime temperatures were mostly around 9°C to 14°C, while seasonal temperatures at this stage of spring should be 17°C to 18°C. Northerly winds brought cold Arctic air, causing temperatures to drop a few degrees below the seasonal average.Unstable conditions are expected to persist in the initial part of the week. There will be isolated showers, some sunny spells and possibly thunderstorms on Monday and strong winds on Tuesday. Weather systems moving east are expected to affect weather patterns by mid-week.Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said, “The first half of this week will still be variable, if not unsettled, across parts of the UK. Temperatures at the start of the week are still slightly below normal for this time of year; we are expecting to see a change as we head towards the weekend.”Weather conditions will begin to improve on Thursday when high pressure begins to develop over England and Wales. Sunny and more stable weather is expected, with warm temperatures gradually increasing and reaching a maximum of 26°C in the south east by Friday. The maximum temperature in Athens is expected to reach 25 degrees Celsius, while in Barcelona it could reach 21 degrees Celsius.The heat is expected to persist through the bank holiday weekend. Forecasters have predicted that England and Wales will have the sunniest hours while many areas are expected to have above normal temperatures for the year.Snell said, “The best sunshine over the bank holiday weekend will probably be in England and Wales. Temperatures are still above normal, potentially very warm again, but it is a little way off in the future to get maximum temperatures.”He said recent forecasts show a more favorable picture for the holiday weekend after several cold and wet days earlier this month. “There are signs at the moment that the bank holidays are looking much better than last week.”