UK weather 30C weekend: Met Office says conditions ‘not a repeat of late May’ as outlook ‘uncertain’
The Met Office has expressed uncertainty over this weekend’s weather - so, will the UK see another heatwave? Here’s the forecast and if 30C temperatures are likely.
Temperatures are likely to rise towards the end of the week but the Met Office has said the weekend will not see a repeat of late May, when the UK saw a record-breaking heatwave sweep the nation. While hopes are high for drier weather, the national weather forecaster has said there is still uncertainty over where will see sunshine and how hot it is likely to get.
A spokesperson writing on the Met Office blog said: “Despite some early summer warmth being possible, confidence in any widespread or sustained heatwave currently remains low. Current indications point towards a more modest and short-lived warm spell, rather than a repeat of the notable conditions experienced at the end of May.”
The likelihood is for more settled conditions with higher pressure moving in. There should be more sunshine with a reduction in the frequency of showers, particularly in the south.
Weekend weather forecast
The Met Office has said Saturday will be “largely dry” with some sunshine, however, “cloudier conditions may persist across parts of the northwest”. Temperatures are set to increase too, rising above the seasonal average in places.
Sunday is likely to see the warmest weather with temperatures climbing higher. The bad news is that this warmth is unlikely to be widespread, with northern and northwestern areas “more prone to cloud and occasional light rain or drizzle”.
Earlier this week, Dan Stroud, meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “We’re looking at temperatures climbing into the weekend, particularly on Saturday and Sunday, so feeling much warmer than recent days, with temperatures quite widely above average, especially across the south come Saturday, and even more so on Sunday.”
Current indicators also suggest temperatures might hit the 30C barrier, and possibly break it, Mr Stroud added. “How high the temperatures get is still open to a fair amount of debate,” Mr Stroud said.
“There is growing signal that temperatures will be heading comfortably into the high 20s, perhaps breaking 30 degrees again. There is definitely a chance of temperatures scraping into the above 30 degrees on Sunday, and then more so on Monday.”
However, the key message is the level of uncertainty around the forecast, with confidence limited due to the positioning and strength of the developing area of high pressure being unclear. What is certain though, is the weather is not expected to be a repeat of the high temperatures experienced in May with the high pressure “weaker and less firmly in place”, opening the door to showers and breezier conditions interrupting any warm spells.
As heatwave criteria require temperatures to meet or exceed specific thresholds over several consecutive days it is unlikely that threshold will be broken in the coming days.