UK heatwave to hit 'in early May' as blast from Africa scorches Britain

New UK weather maps show temperatures soaring by 16C in a late April scorcher. Maps and charts from Netweather TV display temperatures rising to 17C from 1C lows in parts of the north and Scotland, with the balmy conditions returing on April 29 and April 30, and stretching into May.

Weather expert Jim Dale said: ""The charts at the moment are tooing and froing. It’s typical April, we’re in the transition zone, and you can get mixed conditions. As far as the outlook is concerned it has kept meteorologists on the hop because the maps are interchanging so one minute you’re thinking it's going in the right direction, and the next it's all full stop again."

"We haven’t had heatwave weather as such so what we’re getting is par for the course," he added. "What we need in order for us to take a heatwave in is a southernly flow, out of Spain through France and into the UK. I would expect it will materialise as we go through the early part of May.

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"It’s more likely because we haven’t had it. We’ve got some waiting to do before any sign of any heatwave weather comes in. I’m seeing more rain showers and cool weather than I am heatwave out of Africa." The BBC Weather team has also given a promising outlook.

It explained: "There is also the possibility that conditions will calm down overall from the beginning of May and temperatures will continue to rise, with the area of high pressure over Scandinavia continuing to establish itself and bringing a warm and dry easterly flow."

It added: "We will see if the drier pattern continues to stabilise. Another possible trend could make for rather wet, windy and cooler conditions, mainly due to uncertainty about the late state of the stratospheric polar vortex and some other factors, which are still conflicting"