Parts of the UK are preparing for a possible heatwave ahead of the bank holiday weekend as temperatures are forecast to rise as high as 28C. After a week that began with widespread showers and followed an unusually cold spell, forecasters say the country is heading toward a brief but sharp warm-up.
The shift matters today because the warmest weather of the year so far could arrive just as the long weekend begins. By Wednesday, temperatures are forecast to reach 21C, but most places should stay dry on Thursday and Friday, when south-eastern parts of England could climb to 28C. That would top the previous high of 26.6C set at Kew Gardens during an unusually warm early April.
The change is being driven by wind. Last week, the UK was under northerly flow, helping keep conditions chilly. Now south-westerly winds are expected to arrive from the Atlantic at the start of the week, before the wind turns southerly later on, bringing warmer air across the country. Rain is still in the forecast after midweek, and a weather front threatens to bring rain to the west on Friday.
The heatwave question hangs on whether the dry spell holds through the weekend. The Met Office defines a heatwave as at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures above a county-specific threshold, which is 28C in Greater London and 25C in Northern Ireland. A few places could meet that test on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with Herefordshire and Worcestershire looking most likely at the moment. If showers break through over the bank holiday weekend, that outlook weakens fast.
For now, the forecast points to the UK’s first real brush with summer heat of the year. Not every part of the country will see it, and some areas will miss the hottest air altogether, but for the south-east the jump from 21C midweek to 28C by the end of the week would be enough to make this the year’s warmest spell and, in some places, a bona fide heatwave.
