After last week’s record-breaking heatwave brought extremely high temperatures across Britain, much of the population has been looking forward to a cooler spell. This week, with weather coming in from the Atlantic on south-westerly winds, temperatures will fall, and areas of low pressure will bring some rain. By the weekend, however, high pressure may become more dominant with another chance of a heatwave on the way.
This week is expected to feel comfortable, with temperatures hovering around 20C in many areas. However, while it is still a long way off, it is possible that the heatwave threshold will once again be triggered in south-eastern parts of the UK in early July. According to the latest WXCharts maps, based on the NCEP GFS weather model and generated today, temperatures could start surging again over the weekend. On July 7, parts of England could potentially face another scorching spell reaching as high as 40C, particularly later in the afternoon.
Met Office long-range forecast (Friday 3 Jul – Sunday 12 Jul) predicts that temperatures “will rise through the period, perhaps becoming very warm or hot in places.”
The full forecast states: “Some rain is possible across Scotland on Friday, easing as it spreads south and east before clearing away. High pressure will dominate across England and Wales over the weekend, bringing dry and warm conditions with plenty of sunshine for most. Scotland and Northern Ireland will probably see more cloud this weekend, with periods of rain mainly affecting western Scotland at times.
“Into the following working week, high pressure remains slow moving over England and Wales, perhaps extending northwards to bring drier and warmer weather to Scotland and Northern Ireland. Winds will be light to moderate for most, though stronger around northern hills and coasts near low pressure systems. Temperatures will rise through the period, perhaps becoming very warm or hot in places.”
The 40C or higher temperatures appear to be concentrated across much of central, eastern and southern England.