When will the heatwave end? Met Office’s latest forecast unpacked
We were woken up by a 4am thunderstorm on Tuesday, we sweated through chaotic transport scenes on Wednesday and last night many of us barely got a wink of sleep.
We were woken up by a 4am thunderstorm on Tuesday, we sweated through chaotic transport scenes on Wednesday and last night many of us barely got a wink of sleep.
Well, with temperature records being smashed left, right and centre, not soon enough, it seems.
A red weather warning for extreme heat had been due to end tonight, but the Met Office has now extended that.
Instead, they say temperatures won’t fall enough to remove the red warning until 9pm today, Friday June 26.
But that doesn’t mean the heatwave has ended, because it will be replaced by an amber warning for much of the south east, East Anglia and part of the Midlands.
That particular warning will remain in place throughout Saturday until 9pm. It will, however, be a little cooler, dropping from the highs of 37°C expected tomorrow to 32°C on Saturday.
There’ll then be a more noticeable drop on Sunday, still a rather toasty 26°C, but at least there’s going to be a bit of cloud cover.
The Met Office said: ‘Thursday will see the peak of the heat for many, though those further east will retain extreme heat on Friday and Saturday and could continue to see further impacts, which has resulted in amber warnings.
‘The far southeast will retain the warmth the longest, though there should be a climb-down in figures by Saturday, with peaks around 32C likely.
‘Next week is likely to see a change to more of a westerly influence on the UK’s weather, with a return to more average temperatures for the time of year and a mixture of winds and rain, particularly for those in the North West.’
The Met Office has issued a long-range forecast for June 29 to July 8, which will see periods of rain and showers and some thunderstorms.
‘The best of the drier and brighter weather initially will be across the southeast. Then perhaps a drier start to July for many, although the northwest may still see some rain at times, and perhaps accompanied by some strong winds,’ they wrote.