UK set for 'record breaking' hot May and first heatwave could arrive in days

James Rodger

30 April 2024 at 9:43 am·2-min read

The UK faces a RECORD-BREAKING May as bookmakers slash the odds of the country experiencing stifling highs. Leading bookmaker Coral has seen strong support for next month to be the hottest May since records began, and has slashed the odds to 4-5 (from 2-1).

“We look set to start the new month with temperatures climbing into the early 20s, and if the mercury continues to rise, we could be set for a record-hot May," said Coral's John Hill. The move comes a day before the fifth month of the year starts as spring continues.

The BBC says May 6 to May 12 will bring "seasonal" conditions before May 13 and May 26 trends "warmer". The Beeb says: "Later this week and into the fourth week of May, there are signs of a more westerly to south-westerly flow establishing for longer, bringing wetter and windier conditions at times.

"This could be a chance for temperatures to possibly rise above average. As the week progresses the low pressure is likely to remain closer to the UK or towards Iceland, so the changeable conditions are likely to continue. Confidence is low at this stage."

"We'll see which trend continues in late May and at the beginning of June and whether above average temperatures manage to win out," it adds. Exacta Weather forecaster James Madden said: "There is now strong and good cross-model agreement for a decent period of warm to hot weather conditions to develop over several days during next week, making our earlier projections for this period a now high-confidence outcome in terms of forecasting confidence for this warm to hot weather event to occur during next week and if not earlier."

At the very least, we could see temperatures ranging in the low to mid-20's quite widely from later next week and into early May, just in time for the bank holiday weekend on current indications, Mr Madden added.

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