Enjoy the heatwave while it lasts, because Brits are set to be drenched by weeks of rain straight after.
Today was officially the hottest day of the year so far, hitting 34.8c in Cambridge this afternoon, particularly in southern and eastern parts of England.
And although Exacta Weather forecaster James Madden wrote in an update on Facebook this morning that signals are “ever-increasing for the hot to very hot weather to return during late August,” it now appears that rivals Met Office are claiming something very different.
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According to their latest short and long term reports, the heatwave which is set to end tomorrow will be replaced by cooler weather . . . and lots of rain. This has also been backed up by the Met Desk’s WX Charts latest satellite data, which shows swathes of blue colours hovering over the UK.
From Wednesday to Friday of this week, the Office states: “Largely dry and bright on Wednesday. Windy on Thursday with a spell of heavy rain. Sunny spells and a few showers on Friday. Temperatures returning closer to average.”
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But after that, it gets very grim.
In its long range forecast from Saturday, August 17, to Tuesday, September 10, they predict: “A mobile westerly pattern is expected to continue over the weekend and into next week. Low pressure systems will track eastwards, probably near to the north of Scotland, with associated frontal zones periodically moving east over the country.
“This means cloud and rain will move in from the west at times, occasionally accompanied by breezy conditions and the possibility of unseasonably windy spells. Either side of weather fronts there will be spells of sunny or clear weather. Most of the wet weather will tend to be focused in the west and north west, with longer drier spells further south and east. Temperatures overall will be close to average for August.
(Image: Getty Images)
“There is just a chance of short-lived very warm conditions returning to parts of the south and east at times. By the end of August and into September, the ongoing westerly regime looks most likely to continue, with low pressure often centred near or to the north of Scotland.”
Although the Met Office does admit that long-range weather forecasts can change at the drop of a hat, they go on to claim that the “occasional spells of cloud and rain” will spread east or south eastwards across the UK.
And then it becomes even more grim . . .
(Image: Getty Images)
They add: “Rain or showers will tend to be most frequent in the north west, where it may be rather windy at times, with drier and warmer weather more likely towards the south and east. There remains a chance of thundery conditions spreading in from the nearby continent at times.
“Temperatures will be close to average overall, perhaps slightly below in the case of any unsettled days, but short, hot spells remain possible in the south and east.”
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