This upcoming bank holiday weekend (Friday 22-Monday 25 May) is set to be “very warm” with “plenty of sunshine,” the Met Office’s current forecast reads.
Per the BBC, some parts of the UK will see the mercury rise to28°C on Thursday and Friday.
Though very high temperatures (hotter than the hottest day of the year so far, which was 26.6°C), those don’t necessarily mean we’ll be in an official heatwave.
Here’s where temperatures are expected to soar, what makes a heatwave a heatwave, and how long the conditions are expected to last.
Where is it expected to reach 31°C in the UK?
As of time of writing, The Met has forecast 28°C in the South-East, including London, on Saturday, 23 May, with temperatures reaching as high as 30°C on Sunday, 24 May.
And on Monday, the South-East (including London) will see a scorching 31°C, the Met’s interactive forecast map currently reads.
Other parts of the country will still be hot ― Manchester and Plymouth are expected to reach 26°C at the same time on Monday, while Cardiff will reach 27°C.
Heard it's warming up?
Temperatures are on the rise later in the week and after the recent chilly spell it will feel markedly warmer📈
It won't be entirely dry; thunderstorms are possible on Saturday - but it will be a fine and warm long weekend for the vast majority🌤️🌡️ pic.twitter.com/zJzjfv5GEE
Is that a heatwave?
A heatwave officially occurs when somewhere in the UK gets a minimum of three days in a row at or above the maximum temperature threshold.
In the UK, those maximums vary. The South-East is sunnier than the rest of the UK, meaning its temperature threshold is 28°C or 27°C. London’s threshold is 28°C.
As you head further North and West, that threshold reaches 25°C and 26°C.
London is predicted to reach or exceed these temperatures on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (Tuesday should be a scorcher too), so yes, if those predictions hold, we will be in an official heatwave. Other parts of the country, particularly in the South-East, are likely to qualify too.
How long will the heatwave last?
High pressure, which is responsible for sunny, dry conditions, is expected to last into the week following this Bank Holiday weekend, the Met Office said.
In fact, their long-range forecast reads that while we’ll likely see some rain and scattered showers in between, sunnier, warmer weather could last until “mid-June”.
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