Hints of summer bouncing back next week

I’m sure you don’t need a weatherman to tell you that the weather on bank holiday Monday was grim. In fact, very grim.

Rain poured from the skies in classic British bank holiday fashion for all except Scotland, leading to weather that would put an autumnal day in mid-October to shame.

Even though it was forecast well in advance, the reality of it coming to fruition didn’t make it any easier to bear, with south east England widely recording 25-30mm of rain. 

Also, Northern Ireland set a new record for its lowest ever August temperature, with the mercury dropping to a chilly -1.9C at Katesbridge, County Down in the early hours of Sunday morning.

However, enough of the wet and cold stuff, because my meteorological charts are showing hints that summer will bounce back next week.

Jet stream heading north

During much of August, the jet stream has been to the south of the UK, leading to low pressure, wind and rain gracing our shores.

It’s been so wet that the UK had all of its average August rainfall during the first half of the month – in stark contrast to the largely fine and settled weather that we experienced in June and July.

However, early next week, the jet stream is set to meander to the north of the UK, which will steer low pressure, wind and rain towards Iceland and Scandinavia, leaving high pressure to build over us.

What can we expect?

In a nutshell, as high pressure builds, the weather is going to settle down compared to what we’ve had over the past couple of weeks.

The question is how warm it is going to be, which is dependent on the where the area of high pressure sits and thus where the wind is blowing from.

It looks as though next week, the wind will eventually blow from the near by continent, bringing with it warmer air.

Temperatures by the middle of next week could reach 18-22C across Scotland and Northern Ireland, with 20-25C across England and Wales.

There’s even a chance that they could briefly reach 23-28C across England and Wales at the end of next week.

The caveats

Now that we’re are moving into September, the arrival of warm air doesn’t necessarily mean we are on to a winner.

The nights are starting to get longer and the sun lower in the sky, meaning that overnight cloud and mist can linger for a greater amount of time each day.

So whilst the afternoons can deliver some sunshine and warmth, the mornings and evenings can be quite cool.

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