Yahoo News Forecasters on when 'summer will return' to Stoke-on-Trent
Meteorologists believe temperatures will creep back up next week as families in North Staffordshire wait to see when summer will return. There had been balmy conditions just a week ago while June 25 also saw the UK's hottest day of the year being made official with a reading of 30C in Surrey.
While it got into the mid-20s around North Staffordshire, those conditions were soon wiped out with a grey weekend which brought rain and distinctly cooler temperatures. It has left many covering over the summer furniture and contemplating just when the BBQ can again be fired up.
According to the BBC and this week will only see temperatures getting up to around 15C while there will be some light rain tomorrow, Friday and into next week. It is next week though when temperatures will start creeping back up with the Beeb forecasting highs of around 20C by Wednesday (July 10).
Meanwhile weather mapping service WX Charts goes up to July 17 with its forecast and on that day it's going to be around 21C in the Potteries - while parts of the South East could see highs of around 25C. The rather mixed start to July, comes as the Met Office has said June was actually drier than average, with the UK recording 29 per cent less rainfall than the long-term meteorological average.
But it was a cooler than average month. A Met Office spokesperson said: “Temperatures in the first two weeks of June were around 2°C below average. This was due to northerly winds bringing cold Arctic air across the UK in what was a cool start to meteorological summer.
“The second half of the month saw high pressure as the jet stream moved north, bringing warmth to many, especially in the south. Some areas of southeast England exceeded 28°C for several days.”
In its long-range forecast for July, the Met Office is not predicting any heatwaves. Instead a change of temperatures possibly getting above average in the middle of the month.
But the second half may be dry but as it stands, not exactly sizzling.
Met Office long-range UK forecast
July 6 - July 15: "The coming weekend is likely to be rather cool and showery, particularly so on Saturday although the most frequent showers are likely to be reserved for the northwest of the country. Plenty of dry weather with sunny spells in-between the showers. Into the following week, further cloud and rain bearing weather systems are likely to move across the UK, accompanied by stronger winds at times in the west, continuing the recent changeable theme.
"However, there are tentative signs that following the early part of next week, conditions may begin to gradually turn a bit more settled, at least for a time. This particularly so across eastern parts, with temperatures more widely trending back up to average and then potentially above average as the week progresses.
July 16 - July 30: "There has been an emerging trend towards more settled and possibly warmer weather in the run up to this period, which appears to have been brought forward from the middle of the month. This may well continue through to the start of this period with drier conditions a little more likely than normal.
"However, as we go through the rest of the month, the latest information suggests that a return to cooler and more unsettled weather is now slightly favoured. The forecast signals are all rather weak and conflicting, so confidence in a definitive story at this range can be nothing other than very low."
