Is summer finally in sight? Cool June conditions could be replaced by temperatures of up to 30C

California Sands on the East Anglian coast. 
Credit: Denise Duneclift
The sun rising over California Sands on the Norfolk coast. Credit: Denise Duneclift

British summers have many interesting flavours of weather: wet, cool, windy, warm, hot and dry. It can be any one of these things as well as a mixture of all of them.

It is only a few days away from the longest day of the year and there hasn't really been any signs of warm weather. Until now.

How warm will get get next week?

For those that spend time looking at weather data, whether you are browsing the many weather apps on the market or looking into more technical details, your interest may have been piqued by the next few weeks' weather forecast.

There are hints of some very warm weather on the way.

For the last seven years, 30C (86F) has been reached at some date in June across the UK, mainly in the south-east.

So could it get to 30C next week?

This week has started off a little warmer with daytime temperatures at about 20C ( 68F) and the rest of the week is set up to be the same.

However, from Sunday temperatures could start to climb, possibly to as high as 28C (82F). However, some of the weather models are hinting at temperatures getting to 30C (86F).

Where does the unknown in the forecast come from? This ultimately comes down to wind direction and whether we tap into some continental air associated with hot and thundery weather or whether the air has a more direct path off the Atlantic. In weather terms this means is the wind south-easterly or south-westerly.

Why has it been so cool?

There are many ways to look at the weather and one of the more known weather elements to look at is the jet stream. We have been on the cold side of the jet stream for the last few weeks and under the influence of cool northerly winds and wet weather.

However, it may surprise you to hear that June so far has actually been drier than average.

All of the rainfall the region has experienced has been in short sharp bursts and often isolated to only certain areas on any one day.

Approximate location of the jet stream so far in May Credit: ITV Weather

When will it be turning warmer?

A shift in the jet northwards this week means that we are transition on to the warm side of the jet, so day-to-day it will, and already is, warmer.

There is an area of high pressure that approximately sits centred across the Azores islands.

When that gets pushed northwards, we normally start to experience a shift in weather pattern in the form of some warmer and more settled weather.

Azore High Pressure bringing warm air Credit: ITV Weather

As is the case with forecasting, the detail is always easier to pick out closer to the time, but the model output is certainly generating some interest, particularly after what has been a rather cool and wet start to June.

So what it boils down to is whether the wind will be south-easterly or south-westerly. (Sounds simple enough to figure out surely!)

Either way, we can say goodbye to the cool June we've seen so far!


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