Britain has been “picking up Europe’s scraps” when it comes to hot weather, but not for too much longer, one forecaster has claimed.
Jim Dale, senior meteorologist at British Weather Services, spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk about the country’s fortunes, with many reports speculating over an African plume arriving in days.
While maps do show an uptick in temperatures, they do not show the UK reaching anywhere near the 35C heat which is pushing out of northern Africa.
But that’s not to say the country will not experience a repeat of last year’s record-breaking summer, when parts of Britain sweltered in more than 40C on July 19.
Mr Dale said: “There is no truth in the extreme heat calls in the early days. However, it will turn much warmer after next week, and, by May 23 and 24, we should be seeing peaks of 25C comfortably.
“Africa is boiling up towards the end of the month and in time, June, some of that heat is very likely to engage with us.
“We remain on the fringes for now picking up the scraps but with El Niño set to bubble up, with ocean temps at an all-time peak and with climate change continuing to ramp, one has to bet on African plumes delivering +35C heat for us this summer…. just not yet.”
While June marks the start of official meteorological summer, the Met Office has predicted the first 12 days of next month could be dominated by high pressure.
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Its long-range forecast adds: “Into June, high pressure is predicted to remain dominant, especially for northern areas, with cloud, rain and showers more likely to the south, although there is a level of uncertainty associated with this. An increased likelihood of above average temperatures for many.”
Weather maps are also showing a surge of heat pushing across from eastern England on May 27, which could indicate that May’s hottest Bank Holiday yet is still to come.
However, GFS models which predict how the UK’s mercury will look, do not go beyond June.
The Met Office said in its hot weather blog post: “Last summer’s record-breaking heat for the UK was a stark reminder of the risks of extreme heat.”
“Widespread disruption was reported in what was England’s joint hottest summer on record, with travel, infrastructure and healthcare impacted by the heat.”
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