The Met Office predict the mercury will soar unseasonably high in the South East – almost 10C above the average – with parks, beaches and gardens expected to fill up once again
Autumn is getting a 26C blast today (September 22) – and the warm weather looks set to last well into October.
The Met Office predict the mercury will soar unseasonably high in the South East – almost 10C above the average for late September – with parks, beaches and gardens expected to fill up once again. It follows the UK’s hottest summer on record, which beat the previous high set only last year.
Temperatures peaked at a sweltering 38.2C at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire, on August 13, while 54 Met Office weather stations broke their all-time daily maximum records. Now sunseekers could be in luck for weeks to come.
The Met Office’s long-range forecast says temperatures will be “above average overall” next month, with the outlook into mid-October pointing the same way.
It adds that “periods of drier and more settled weather are likely, especially in the south and east”, where they may last for a few days.
Bookies reckon another record could be on the cards. Coral’s John Hill said: “With temperatures of 20C forecast for next week and sunshine set to remain in the early stages of autumn, we have cut the odds on next month ending as the hottest October on record in the UK.”
But not everyone will enjoy it. The Met Office said that temperatures will widely reach the low to mid-20s across southern England today (September 21).
Yet northern and western parts face more changeable conditions from tomorrow as rain and wind sweep in from the Atlantic. Northern England will also bear the brunt of the heaviest downpours as temperatures tumble.
Met Office deputy chief forecaster, Tony Wisson, said: “The forecast becomes more changeable from Wednesday as a series of weather fronts move across the UK. But Thursday should bring long sunny spells for much of England and Wales.”
It comes as around 30 million people in England remain affected by hosepipe bans. Nearly nine in 10 adults have taken at least one step to cut back on water use in the past month, as many areas of the country remain officially in drought despite recent rainfall.
This summer’s record-breaking heat and consistently dry weather has left reservoir levels well below average. Some 88% of respondents to a survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said they had taken at least one step to cut water usage in August.