Yahoo News Exact date 'heatwave' from Africa to hit UK as weather maps turn red
Weather maps have pinpointed the arrival of a burst of hot air from Africa with the first major heatwave of 2024 due to arrive within days.
WXCharts' new maps indicate that summer temperatures will soar above 20C for several consecutive days this month, as the UK appears to leave its recent spate of bad weather behind. The start of the summer season has been marred by persistent rain and heavy cloud cover, following an exceptionally wet May with rainfall exceeding the average by more than 120 percent.
The Met Office's long-range forecast suggests more wet weather is on the way but also indicates it "continues to look increasingly likely" that a "drier, warmer, and settled spell" will emerge from this coming weekend. A heatwave with temperatures in the mid-20s and up to 30C in some parts of the country is then expected from around June 27.
WXCharts maps show that the anticipated rise in temperature will be driven by a plume of heat advancing towards the UK after originating in northern Africa and sweeping across Spain, France, and Portugal.
These maps reveal a dramatic increase in temperatures over the next week, with a bold red wave engulfing the entire country from north to south, propelled by the African heatwave. By June 27, forecasts predict temperatures could near 30C even in some of the traditionally coldest regions of the country.
Scotland is set to experience soaring temperatures reaching up to 26C around areas just south of Inverness, reports the Mirror.
Meteorologists from WXCharts envisage similar warmth spreading across the rest of the UK, with London and the southeast luxuriating in potential highs of 22C. Other areas feeling the thermal surge will be parts of Wales, northern England and the Midlands, including Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire where temperatures are expected to reach 22C.
Echoing the predictions made by WXCharts, the Met Office anticipate that the warmer weather would "develop later this coming weekend" with continuation "into the following week". Though there's a small chance the hot weather could linger for much of the rest of the period, it also hinted at a variation in forecasts which include cooler, more unsettled weather.
Despite this, the general consensus leaning towards settled, warmer than average conditions being the most likely outcome.
