Forecasters claim ‘it’s still summer’ as warm air blowing in from France mean it’s hotter than the Turkish city of Istanbul. But it’ll be followed by an 8C plunge then gales and rain
Britain is warmer than Turkey as an 800 mile-wide “French frazzle” turns October into Hot-tober. Weathermen say “it’s still summer” as the 24C weekend is set to be followed by 23C today (October 5) in the South and 22C in the North.
The warm air is blowing in from France means it is hotter than the 21C in the Turkish city of Istanbul. An autumn blip with an 8C plunge to 12-16C arrives from Wednesday, with the weekend seeing 50mph gales and rain in the West and rain for the Midlands and North.
But a balmy 20C follows next week, with sunny spells in the South and North, with fewer showers, as weathermen said this is the summer that won’t go away.
Netweather forecaster Nick Finnis said: “It still feels like summer with T-shirt and shorts weather. You have to pinch yourself that it’s early October, not late August.”
A Met Office forecaster said: “Summer-like warmth has seen October get off to a warm start, with temperatures remaining above average.
“Weather systems will then move in from the Atlantic, bringing spells of rain or showers, with some strong winds. However there will be drier spells in mid month and it may become warmer again.”
The Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze said: “Autumn will finally arrive for a brief time, but it then turns drier again.” It comes after figures show that last month was the joint-fourth warmest September in the UK since records began.
Provisional data from the Met Office shows that the mean average temperature across the month was 14.6C, slightly below the all-time high for September of 15.2C set in 2023 and 2006.
A spell of unseasonably warm weather towards the end of the month helped push 2026 up the rankings. High pressure over southern parts of the country brought hot conditions to many areas in recent days, with temperatures peaking at 28.1C at Kew Gardens in London on September 29.
Last month’s average temperature of 14.6C equals the September figures for 2016 and 1949, and sits just behind the 14.7C measured in 2021.
Met Office climate information scientist Mike Kendon said: “Persistent warmth has been the theme of recent months and September is no different.
“While the month itself was unexceptional overall, when putting it into the context of the warm year we’ve had so far, this fits with the general pattern that we’re seeing of more frequent above average temperatures in the UK as our climate continues to change.”