A burst of summer heat next week

We’re almost halfway through meteorological summer and there’s no doubt that it hasn’t lived up to many of our expectations.

June was a wet month for much of England, Wales and eastern Scotland, with some places seeing more than double the normal rainfall.

Sunshine was also in short supply during June, with practically all of the UK duller than what would normally be expected in June.

Despite there being the usual annual raft of speculative, hyperbolic articles about a hot summer this year, most of us have barely had more than a few nice days in row.

It is of course impossible to tell what the weather is doing for a whole summer – months ahead – so I’ll let you come to your own conclusions as to why some newspapers and online outlets continue to write such stories…

A brief spell of summer heat

Whilst there are still no signs of any prolonged spells of sunshine and heat, there are signs of a brief burst of hot air from the continent early next week.

Even though it’ll be temporary, it’ll be enough to send temperatures into the mid to high 20s across parts of England and Wales from Sunday to Tuesday, with plenty of sunshine.

Scotland and Northern Ireland will turn a little warmer, with temperatures just into the low 20s, but it’ll be cloudier and breezier with some showers at times.

The peak of the heat will probably be on Tuesday, with temperatures widely reaching 23-27C across England and Wales, with a chance that somewhere could reach 28-29C – most likely across south east England.

Three fine days and a thunderstorm

The well-known saying “three fine days and a thunderstorm” will ring true in relation to the forthcoming burst of heat

During Wednesday, an area of low pressure will push north eastwards across the UK, destabilising the atmosphere and releasing the heat and humidity that will have built up.

This could lead to some lively thunderstorms breaking out, with frequent lightning, hail and thunder during Wednesday.

Whilst it is hard to pin down the detail of thunderstorms so far ahead, it is likely that they’ll initially start across Wales and south west England, spreading across the rest of the UK through the day.

Thereafter, we’ll see a return to the more changeable weather that we’ve been used to, with the best of any warmth and sunshine in the south and breezy, showery weather in the north.

Don’t forget, you can get the latest forecast on the Channel 4 Weather website. I’ll also be posting updates on Twitter – @liamdutton

Animation: Tropical Tidbits