UK weather: Last blast of summer as temperatures nudge 30C - how hot your area will be

The UK is set to bask in temperatures of more than 30C this week, as summer heat returns when hot air from the Sahara arrives.

Forecasters say temperatures could hit 31C in the south east of England, making it warmer than Phuket in Thailand.

The weekend finished with temperatures above 26C prompting many to visit parks and the coast before the new coronavirus `Rule of six' came into play at midnight.

Photos showed packed beaches at the resort of Lyme Regis, Dorset, and Perranporth, Cornwall.

But sunseekers were also enjoying unseasonably hot weather further north, including at Formby beach in Merseyside.

Met Office expert Craig Snell said: "After a relatively cooler period for a couple of weeks we will see the return of summer weather.

"The next few days will be around 10C above the average for this time of year.

"It will be hottest in the south-east but very warm for a lot of the country.

"We sometimes see high temperatures even in October so this may not be the last blast of heat.

"But certainly the chances of getting above 30 this late in the year will be reducing day by day."

Temperatures may reach 31C in the South both today and tomorrow.

If the mercury goes one degree higher it would be the latest date that 32C had been recorded on since records began in 1841.

The average for this time of September is only 20C in the South and 17C in the North.

The weather is being caused by a 1,500 mile-wide front of warm air being sucked up from Africa by the jet stream.

Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze said: "Summer is returning in spectacular style. And with warmer-than-average temperatures forecast further into autumn, even October is expected to see 23C.”

From Wednesday temperatures will fall towards average but the majority of the country will remain dry for most of the week.

Some north-western parts of the UK and north-west Scotland in particular could see some rain early on Monday, but "elsewhere it will be generally dry and sunny", according to forecaster John Griffiths.

He said that "much of England and Wales by the afternoon will be dry warm and sunny if not even locally very warm" and there is the potential for a top temperature of 30C in the south east of England.

Mr Griffiths said: "Tuesday we're still looking at highs of 30 somewhere in the south east maybe even a spot of 31, but it will already be cooling off in some south western areas.

He added: "Across Scotland it will actually be a warmer day for many on Tuesday.

"There's going to be the potential for a few showers around in some western areas and one of two of them could be heavy and the odd rumble of thunder but they're going to be very isolated where they do occur. "

There could be highs of 27 or 28 again on Wednesday, but as we head towards the end of the week the heat will begin to move away and temperatures will drop to the low 20s in the warmest parts, Mr Griffiths said.

The meteorologist said: "It's not that unusual for this time of year, we quite often get warm spells of weather in September."

But added these temperatures will still be some way off the highest September temperature ever recorded, which was 35.6C on September 2, 1906.

North West

In the North West temperatures are set to hit 24C by 3pm on both Monday and Tuesday, although there is set to be some cloud cover too.

The evening maybe also quite warm, only dropping to a low of 17C on Monday night.

For the rest of the week temperatures are hovering around 18 to 19C all the way to the weekend. The cloud has disappeared after Wednesday, leading to sunny days and clear nights.

Midlands

It is slightly warmer in the midlands with clear days and nights, and temperatures stretching to 25C.

Tuesday and Wednesday will see a little cloud but it is still warm, before clearing for the rest of the week as the mercury sits at around 18-20C.

Wales

Cardiff, Swansea and Monmoth are all heading for 22C today with clear skies and bright sunshine.

Tomorrow sees the same temperature, but a little more cloud.

But the mercury in Wales only drops to around 20C by Wednesday and will stay sunny all the way until the weekend.

South East

The whole of the south east from London to Brighton, Canterbury and Crawley will all see at least 25C today. Some areas will top 28C today and tomorrow.

The clear skies go through day and night until the weekend, with most areas dipping slightly on Wednesday to around 22-23C.

South West

Devies, Plymouth and Barnstaple will all reach 24C today although will drop to 20C earlier than the rest of the UK on Tuesday. The area is a little cloudy Tuesday and Wednesday, before clearing for the second half of the week.

Scotland

The very sunny weather hasn't reached as far as Scotland, with Edinburgh only expecting a high of 20C and Aberdeen 19C today.

The rest of the week for Scotland appears a mixed bag, which although has little rain does have bouts of cloudy weather.