UK weather: Bank holiday Monday could see hottest day of year

Britons flock to parks and beaches as sun beams through blue skies

People gather on Boscombe beach (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Bank holiday Monday could become the hottest day of the year so far with temperatures predicted to hit 25C in parts of the UK.

Britons flocked to parks and beaches as the sun beamed through blue skies over the long weekend.

The Met Office has forecast that temperatures could reach 25C on Monday, beating the 24.5C high for 2021 set at Kew Gardens on 30 March.

Temperatures across the rest of the UK are expected to be at least in the low 20s, even in northern Scotland.

"The only exception is along the east coast – there is quite a lot of low cloud, mist and fog in east coastal areas and that will stay for the next few days, so highs of between 12C (53.6F) and 16C (60.8F) there – quite a lot lower than elsewhere," said Becky Mitchell, a meteorologist from the Met Office.

But if a new record for the year is set, it is not expected to last for long, as temperatures are expected to climb to 27C on Wednesday before cooler, fresher air moves in.

Ms Mitchell warned there could be some thunderstorms on the way.

"There will potentially be some thunderstorms by midweek, the first bout of showers will come into parts of the South West and there will be a few thunderstorms in that," she said.

The storms in the South West are expected to hit on Wednesday, with the South East due for a bit of a soaking by Friday.

"There's a chance of some thundery break down in the south east and we could have some quite intense storms there," Ms Mitchell said.

"There's still a lot of uncertainty but with the warm and humid weather we are having we have the key ingredients for thunder storms."

She continued: "The warmer weather will stick around until at least Thursday in most places, that's when we could get some slightly fresher air coming in.

Although such a sunny bank holiday is perhaps rare, the temperatures are not unusual for the time of year, with the mercury usually sitting in the high teens and low 20s by late May.

The Met Office warned previously that levels of harmful UV light will be very high over the coming days, and advised people to wear plenty of sunscreen.

May has been the fourth wettest on record for the UK, and the wettest ever for Wales.

Additional reporting by PA