UK weather: 'Mini heatwave' set for Britain as temperatures reach 20C

17 April 2023, 14:04 | Updated: 17 April 2023, 14:10

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

Forecasters have predicted warm weather is on the way this spring, with temperatures even reaching 20C in parts of the UK.

After a very wet and windy few weeks, the weather is finally changing across the UK.

And the sun could be here to stay, with forecasters predicting a ‘mini heatwave’ for many of us over the next few weeks.

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ITV weather presenter Philippa Drew said: “There’s good confidence in the forecast for something drier, brighter and warmer.

“It looks as though afternoon temperatures should be comfortably into the mid perhaps high-teens. Locally we could even creep towards 20C.

“But it does come with caveats... spring months are notorious for large diurnal variations – the difference between overnight minimums and daytime maximums. With that in mind early mornings will be on the chilly side and the east coast will struggle with an easterly breeze.

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"So heatwave, not quite, but a lot more settled.”

As for the next few days, it should be mostly dry with aa few showers possible in southern areas.

Northern parts of the country will remain dry on Thursday and Friday, but there is an increasing chance of rain or showers further south.

The sudden rise in temperatures could see Brits enjoying a warmer few days than some of Europe’s most popular holiday hotspots.

Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services said: “I would expect a mini heatwave in May – it is well overdue.

“This is considering the weather we have had so far this spring, which has lacked the heat seen by now in previous years, often with April temperatures well into the 20s.

“We are now walking into summer with temperatures to rise into the high teens next week, possibly touching 20C.”

This comes after England had its wettest March since 1981, according to Met Office statistics.

Wales and Northern Ireland have all had one of their ten wettest Marches on records which go back to 1836.

Wales had 206.5mm of rain, double its long-term average, while for England, 119.2mm of rain fell, which is more than double its long-term average.

The Met Office’s head of the National Climate Information Centre, Dr Mark McCarthy said: “Although the month started cold and dry for many, moist, milder air soon pushed up from the south bringing frequent heavy periods of rain, this being longest-lasting in the southern half of the UK.

“Overall this has been an unsettled month dominated by Atlantic low pressure weather systems. Many parts of southern and central England and south Wales have received more than double their average rainfall for March, which is in stark contrast to the dry February England experienced.”