WIREDGOV

High pressure builds across the UK this week, with temperatures expected to peak on Thursday.

Today will see plenty of sunshine and light winds across England and Wales, although a front will stall across the far north of the UK bringing cooler and cloudier conditions there. There will be rain into Northern Ireland too. Temperatures will be quite widely into the high teens, with a maximum of 25°C possible in the southeast.

Tonight, outbreaks of rain become confined to the Northern Isles and overnight temperatures will be high for the time of year in some places.

By tomorrow, most of the UK will be dry and sunny, with perhaps some rain lingering in Scotland. Temperatures look to reach 26°C in the southeast and again, overnight temperatures will be high for the time of year.

High pressure continues on Wednesday, with temperatures widely in the 20s, reaching a maxima of 27°C.  The warmest day of the week looks set to be Thursday, with temperatures potentially reaching 29°C in the southeast.

The highest recorded April temperature was way back in 1949 when Camden Square in London recorded 29.4°C on 16 April and the highest May temperature recorded was 32.8°C on 22 May, 1922, again, in Camden Square in London.

In Met Office temperature records, which go back to 1860, if we reach 30°C this week it will be the earliest point in the year in which we have reached 30°C.  

Chief Meteorologist Jason Kelly said:

“Thursday looks set to be the warmest day of the week, with temperatures climbing notably above the seasonal average. Overnight temperatures will also be very high in places. It’s possible national and station records for daytime and overnight temperatures may be broken, but it’s unclear at this point whether heatwave criteria will be reached in some of the lower category areas which require temperatures to reach 25°C or above for three consecutive days. The far north will always see cooler conditions, with these more seasonal temperatures likely spreading erratically south later in the week.”

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