Weather forecasters say UK heatwave making this weekend 'hottest of year' in 26C blast

dailystar.co.uk:

heatwave sweeps over the nation. The previous highest temperature this year was 23.4C, recorded in St James's Park, London, on April 15.

However, forecasters now say that the mercury will soar two or three notches higher than that in a matter of days. Jim Dale, a meteorologist for British Weather Services, told the Daily Express that the scorching conditions will be driven by warm air coming in from Europe around a ridge of high pressure.

He said: “As the week unwinds, high pressure starts to pick up a Continental air flow.“This will start to come in from the South and the Southeast, and most of the country will start to feel the effects of this warmth by the end of the week.“It will be cooler in Scotland, but elsewhere, by the weekend we expect to see temperatures of around 24C, 25C, or 26C.”The Met Office have also said that this weekend is set to be roasting. For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.In a long range forecast spanning from this Saturday (May 14) onwards, they said: "Temperatures are expected to become widely above average and a very warm or hot spell is possible across the south of the UK in particular."However, they also warned that the sweltering conditions create an "increasing chance of showers or thunderstorms, especially in the West" as we head into next week.

Temperatures are expected to be warm in places ahead of this weekend, although many Brits will see some rain. For today (May 10), Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern explained in a video forecast: "It's a damp start to the day for northern and central England, and then slowly the rain pushes into East Anglia and the South East.