UK weather forecast latest: South-east to be hotter than Majorca as temperatures set to soar again in heatwave gripping Britain

Robin de Peyer21 July 2018

The heatwave gripping Britain shows no signs of letting up as parts of the UK are set to bask in temperatures hotter than Majorca.

After heavy showers and thunderstorms in some areas on Friday evening, the sunny weather should return for the first weekend of the summer holidays.

Temperatures are expected to hit 28C in London at the weekend, before climbing even further to 31C on Monday – leaving the capital hotter than Palma on the holiday island of Majorca.

Forecasters said rain in parts of the south west and Wales was likely to clear, though warned of “heavy bursts” going into Saturday.

There were concerns earlier over potential travel disruption as holidaymakers began to set off following the start of the school break.

Britain is due to bask in more hot weather
Reuters

Clouds on Saturday morning should later make way for afternoon sunshine, with temperatures expected to reach 29C in London.

Mr Keates said: "There will still be dribs and drabs of drizzly rain in places but the amount of rain at this stage should probably not be much.

UK heatwave

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"Most places will see some sunshine by the afternoon but there still will be quite a lot of cloud in some places - it won't be wall-to-wall sunshine."

Sunday will be the better of the two days, with England seeing "fine, dry weather, sunny spells", with the mercury rising above 30C.

National weather forecast Friday 20th July predicts thunderstorms in the south

The south east and parts of Wales will experience temperatures in the mid-20s, rising on Sunday, while north-west Scotland will see cloudier and wetter conditions.

The famous heatwave of 1976 - In pictures

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As of Wednesday, the UK had just 1.85in (47mm) of rain, making it the driest start to summer in modern records which date back to 1961, followed by 2013 with 2.3in (59mm) of rain.

The East of England has seen just 1% of its long-term average rainfall in July so far, while no region has had more than one-fifth.

Heatwave: Tourists enjoy the sun near the Tower of London
PA

The scale of the heatwave was illustrated in Nasa satellite images of England taken in both May and mid-July, where largely dark-green land has turned yellow-brown.

Heatwave: The UK was considerably greener in May (left) compared to July
Met Office

Meanwhile, United Utilities, which supplies the North West, is introducing a hosepipe ban from August 5 amid concern over low reservoir levels.

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