London to enjoy warm weather as summer finally arrives - but not for long

28 July 2024, 11:24

Temperatures in parts of the UK could reach 27C today as summer finally arrives, according to forecasts.

There will be dry conditions for the majority of the country.

The weather follows a warm and sunny Saturday, which saw temperatures reach 25C.

Exacta weather forecaster James Madden predicted in a Facebook post that there could be some “extreme temperature spikes.”

He said: “Major heat and potentially extreme temperatures are set to arrive on cue this weekend.

“From this Sunday to around Wednesday at the very least of next week, we will see a significant build of high pressure and a massive rise in temperatures.

"Overall temperatures will skyrocket during this three-to four-day period, and there is no reason not to see top temperatures in the mid-30Cs in parts of the south.”

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According to the Met Office, Sunday morning will start with fog patches which will burn off early to leave "a fine day, with spells of prolonged sunshine."

The forecast for Greater London adds: "Feeling warmer than Saturday and more humid too. Light winds. Maximum temperature 27°C."

And the warm weather is expected to stick around for several days, possibly reaching "heatwave criteria", in time for the start of the school holidays.

A heatwave can only be declared when there is a location recording, which includes a “period of at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold.”

In the UK, a heatwave is declared when daily temperatures meet or exceed a certain temperature for at least three consecutive days.

In London, the heatwave threshold is 28C.

David Hayter, a deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: "As we go through the weekend, the jet stream will weaken to the west of the UK generating an area of high pressure that will slowly move in across the UK.

"High pressure means the air is sinking from higher in the atmosphere and that brings drier, settled and sunnier weather.

"Temperatures will rise too, becoming widely above average. We could see maxima of 27°C in the south and 25°C in the northeast by Sunday."

London and the south east will see the best of the weather this weekend and early next week.

But it won't last for long, as the Met Office is predicting a "possible breakdown" by midweek, with the possibility of thunderstorms.