Hot weather is forecast to hit the UK on Friday, with the Met Office confirming a heatwave is on the cards for the next three days. The plume of hot air will see temperatures skyrocket to 36C, 37C and potentially even 38C in places. Forecasters predict the weekend will be a scorcher for much of the UK, with sunny skies and warm weather continuing.
The Met Office has issued a heat health alert, warning conditions could reach dangerous levels for some.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Dan Suri, said: “Although much of the UK can expect a spell of warm and sunny weather lasting into early next week, it’s going to turn very hot for parts of England and Wales with temperatures widely reaching above 30 Celsius on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“Met Office heatwave criteria will be reached over East Anglia and southeast England.
“Tomorrow (Friday) is likely to be the hottest day with temperatures of 36 to 37 Celsius in parts of east and southeast England.
“It’s possible temperatures could reach similar levels on Saturday, before falling slightly on Sunday.
“There’s also a small chance temperatures could reach close to 38 Celsius in one or two spots in the southeast on Friday, but this will partly depend on the chance of cloud spreading in from the southwest during the afternoon.
Mr Suri continued: “Along with hot weather by day, it will stay warm and humid overnight with temperatures remaining in the high teens and low 20s Celsius.”
Weather maps have turned red with the heat, showing the intense heat which will hit the UK from Friday.
The hot weather is due to a 700 mile-wide mass of hot air moving across from Africa’s Sahara Desert.
This plume will bring possible highs of 45C to Spain, and will push temperatures up to 38C in some parts of the UK.
On how long the hot weather is expected to last, Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Chris Bulmer, said: “The hot airmass will remain over much of England and Wales until early next week, so we’ll continue to see maximum temperatures in the low to mid-30s Celsius as the heatwaves continues.
“It looks like the heatwave could break on Tuesday and Wednesday as the risk of thunderstorms increases for many areas, although at the moment it’s a bit too early to say for certain, so our advice is to keep up to date with Met Office forecasts day-by-day.”
