Met Office passes verdict on whether UK will get August bank holiday heatwave

14 August 2023, 14:30 | Updated: 15 August 2023, 09:41

A Bank Holiday heatwave is "probably unlikely", the Met Office has warned - dashing hopes of a late return to hot weather this summer.

The UK has gone through a period of unsettled weather, as a brief spell of warmer weather saw temperatures rise to 20C on Thursday.

The weekend saw a return to overcast skies and rain and the Met Office issued a yellow rain warning for the north of England and Wales for Monday.

But a high of up to 30C in parts of southern England has been forecast for later in the week.

Now, the weather service has warned Brits not to expect a heatwave in the end of August bank holiday weekend.

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It is difficult to predict so far ahead but a spokesperson said: "Although temperatures are set to pick up this week, an August Bank Holiday heatwave is looking probably unlikely."

Instead, Brits will need to take advantage of the warmth this week.

The rain will soon break, as warm tropical air could make parts of the UK hotter than California at the end of next week with temperatures set to soar past 30C.

High pressure set to build from the middle of the week means south-east England could reach 32C on Friday, according to the Met Office - higher than the 26C predicted for Los Angeles.

Read more: End of summer: Hopes of heatwave dampened as Met Office warns rain and thunderstorms to last into September

"We are looking at the possibility of reaching the low 30s later in the week, most likely on Friday, probably in and around London, running into East Anglia and other parts of the South and East," Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud said.

"We've got low pressure dominating at the moment, that will eventually give way to another area of heavy rain and cloud which will move up from the South and West into Monday, which will be a miserable and wet day across England and Wales.

"Beyond that, there are tentative signs of an improvement, gradually losing that showery signal during Tuesday and Wednesday, and temperatures will start to climb.

"We've got high pressure building from the middle of the week and that will tap into some tropical continental air, which will draw up some very warm, locally hot air that will allow temperatures to climb steadily.

"By the time we get into Friday and maybe into Saturday we stand a chance of breaking into the 30s."

Temperatures may also climb in other parts of the country on Friday, with much of England and Wales to surpass 25C, while Scotland and Northern Ireland could reach the low-to-mid 20s.

Many areas will be dry with sunny spells during the warm period, according to the Met Office, but there may be outbreaks of thundery showers.