UK braced for 'first sign of summer' as temperatures finally heat up

The UK weather will finally warm up on June 5 with weather forecasters saying the mercury will spike into the mid-twenties. June 1 will bring with it mercury above 20C, before the mercury could hit the mid-twenties a few days later by June 5.

Jim Dale, a meteorologist with British Weather Services, said: “We see the northwest quadrant of Europe all locked in cool into warm weather. At present, it is very transient as we are witnessing interchangeable weather. It’s only going to be around June when we could see a possibility of dry weather but nothing before that.

“Even in June is it going to be in the later part of the June week we can expect something around in the first sign of the summer.” Maps and charts from WX Charts, which uses Met Desk data, show the country burning red as the conditions improve.

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Looking ahead from May 27 to June 5, the Met Office has delivered a medium-term forecast. In it, meteorologists explained: "For Bank Holiday Monday showers will be more likely across eastern parts of the UK where they may be heavy, while western parts have a better chance of staying fine and dry and in any sunshine it will feel warm.

"For the rest of the week the south, especially the southeast looks as though it may see a longer spell of more settled, dry weather, while the northwest may continue unsettled with further showers, perhaps some longer spells of rain at times and here it could also become windy.

"Temperatures are likely to reflect this, remaining close to or perhaps a little on the cool side across the northwest, whereas the south is likely to be a little warmer than average." The forecast from June 6 into mid-June adds: "The signal for any meaningful high (or low) pressure regime to become established remains elusive, which suggests that the weather could remain fairly changeable through June, with variations on what this will look like across the country.

"Signals for both temperature and rainfall indicate a 'more-likely above average' overall. This suggests that further rain or showers are likely, possibly heavy or thundery at times. As is normal for the time of year there is likely to be some spells of warm sunshine between these showers."