UK set for hottest day of the year as temperatures soar to 35C, with thunderstorm warnings also issued
12 August 2024, 05:40
The UK is set to have its hottest day of the year on Monday, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 35C in places.
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Temperatures already climbed to the late 20s on Sunday, and today is set to be even hotter for much of the country.
But in parts of the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, rain and storms are also forecast.
London, East Anglia and the home counties are expected to be the warmest places in the country on Monday.
Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said: "It's going to be hot.
"The weather is coming with a lot of humidity, so it will feel quite uncomfortable out there across central eastern England.
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"Elsewhere, it's still going to be warm and humid, but the hottest weather will be in central eastern England."
Temperatures will return to more average levels on Tuesday and Wednesday, forecasters think.
Because the spike in temperatures is set to only last for two days, it is not considered a heatwave. That requires three straight days of hot weather.
A yellow heat health alert is in place for the East and West Midlands, East of England, South East, West, North West and London until Wednesday morning.
The previous hottest day was July 19, when temperatures reached 31.9C in London. The hottest day ever recorded in the UK was July 19, 2022 - at 40.3C in Lincolnshire.
But two yellow warnings for thunderstorms are also in place for Monday, with the warning in Scotland and northern England lasting until 1pm today, and the notice for Northern Ireland expiring at 7am.
Thunderstorms are already beginning to move into the Republic of Ireland," Mr Snell said on Sunday evening.
"They will start to move up into Northern Ireland later this evening and then move across Scotland and northern England as we go through the night and into tomorrow.
"It could be potentially quite nasty in places up there."
