Bank holiday could be warmest day of the year

Photo: Met Office

Families boating on a river in warm sunshine

It will continue to warm up in time for the Bank Holiday weekend and there is a 50/50 chance we may see the warmest day of the year so far at some point towards the end of the weekend, says the Met Office.

The warmest late May Bank Holiday Weekend on record is officially 32.8 °C, recorded on Bank Holiday Monday itself on 29th May 1944 in Horsham (West Sussex), Tunbridge Wells  (Kent) and Regents Park (London) just a few days ahead of D-Day.

Martin Young, Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office said, “Although temperatures will rise into the mid to high 20s for southern and central parts of England and Wales, with a small chance of temperatures pushing 30 °C, it looks unlikely that we will see the warmest temperature records broken.  However, there is a 50/50 chance we may see the warmest day of the year so far at some point towards the end of the weekend.”

St. James Park, London currently holds the record for the warmest day of the year in 2018, with 29.1 °C recorded on 19 April.

There will be plenty of fine, warm and sunny weather over the weekend and temperatures could rise into the high 20s.  These high temperatures will also bring the risk of thunderstorms over the weekend. 

Not everywhere will stay dry, however, with the risk of scattered heavy and thundery showers in some places. 

Chief Meteorologist Andy Page said, “There is a risk of potentially severe thunderstorms during the Bank Holiday weekend

"We are carefully monitoring the thunderstorm threat and recommend people keep updated with the forecast on the day if they have outdoor plans.”

Beyond the weekend high pressure and the easterly winds remain in charge into the half- term holidays, with many places seeing a continuation of the very warm, dry spell with the possibility of a thundery shower breaking out somewhere.