UK to be hotter than Athens on Friday – in time for bank holiday | Weather | News
Britons could enjoy warmer weather from Athens and Barcelona towards the weekend after the Met Office predicted the top temperature in the south-east on Friday would be 26°C, beating forecasts of 25°C for Greece and 21°C for Spain.
The warming follows a rather cold start to May; Meanwhile, winds from the north dragged Arctic air across the country and dropped daytime temperatures 3 to 5 degrees below seasonal norms.
Although May usually brings high temperatures around 17 to 18 degrees, most of the month saw daytime highs of only 9 to 14 degrees.
What’s the weather forecast like this week?
The week opens with an unstable picture; sunshine interrupted by showers and the possibility of thunder, a band of rain across the country as the day progresses. Stormy conditions are expected to continue on Tuesday.
Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said: “The first half of this week will still be variable, if not unstable, in parts of the UK. Temperatures at the start of the week are still a bit low for this time of year, we expect to see a change as we approach the weekend.”
From Thursday, the picture brightens significantly as calm, sunny conditions emerge across England and Wales, with the mercury heading towards a peak of 26C in the south-east by Friday.
What is the bank holiday weekend weather forecast?
Snell said the general trend indicates that warm conditions will continue in the coming weeks. “The best sunshine over the bank holiday weekend is likely to be in England and Wales.
“Temperatures are still above normal, potentially very warm again, but a bit too far away to reach maximums in the future,” he said.
He added that the outlook for bank holidays had improved significantly. “There are indications at the moment that the bank holiday is looking much better than what we experienced last week.”
