UK set to be hotter than Turkey and bask in 25C amid arrival of 800-mile 'heat dome'

The UK is set to sizzle in highs of 25C during the half-term holidays next week. The warm temperatures will be brought about by an 800-mile heat dome.

Forecasters say this could make Britain hotter than Turkey, a popular holiday destination with Brits. On Spring Bank Holiday, May 27, the weather looks set to brighten up on this day, reports MirrorOnline.

It could see Britain enjoy its hottest May in 160 years. But forecasters say thunderstorms, heavy rain and even hail could batter Britain beforehand over several days.

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Flooding could be caused by torrential downpours starting from Tuesday. Meanwhile eastern parts of the country are set to be battered midweek by 50mph gusts, reports the Daily Star.

On Monday and Tuesday, several yellow weather warnings from the Met Office are in place for parts of Northern Ireland. "Scattered heavy showers and thunderstorms will develop during the afternoon across parts of Northern Ireland before slowly dying out this evening," reads the warning.

"A lot of places seem likely to dodge these downpours, which may end up focused in the far west of the warning area. But where they do develop, they'll be moving only very slowly and so could produce a lot of rain, some lightning and a risk of hail."

More rain from the Atlantic is due to hit on Saturday, though these are likely to clear by Sunday, paving the way for a clear and sunny Bank Holiday Monday. The mercury could rise to 25C, warmer than the 22C predicted in Istanbul, Turkey. Maps from WXCharts show a plume of warm weather around 800 miles sitting over the British Isles. The Weather Outlook's Brian Gaze said: "There's potential for it to be warm or very warm on occasion in the week from May 24."

On a cautious note, a Met Office forecaster warned about unsettled conditions starting next Tuesday, with risks of heavy rain and strong winds in eastern areas come midweek. He said: "Early in the Bank Holiday weekend has another band of rain moving in from the west. But into the next week has increasingly settled conditions more likely for most, with temperatures likely to be a little above average. Southern and eastern areas will have sunshine between occasional showers, though rain may threaten north-western areas."

May so far is the warmest since records began back in the 1860s at 13.5C, which is 3.6C over the average. Aidan McGivern, a forecaster for Met Office, confirmed: "It's the warmest first half of May on record."