Jubilee Weather: Will the south east celebrate with a bank holiday heatwave?

Millions of people are preparing to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, but it's still all to play for with the weather as the bank holiday weekend approaches.

With thousands of street parties and outdoor celebrations planned across the country to mark the Queen’s 70-year milestone, many will be hoping for a repeat of the sunshine that prevailed during her Diamond Jubilee festivities in 2012.

This year, forecasters are warning of an unsettle period, as high pressure to the west battles it out with warm, unstable air over the near continent.

Current indications are for a showery start from Thursday, as the bank holiday gets underway, perhaps with some heavy, thundery downpours.

But high pressure will tend to win out as the weekend progresses.

Either way it looks as though temperatures will be a little above average, with highs expected of around 20 degrees C.

ITV Meridian Weather Presenter Philippa Drew said, "The Jubilee is still a few days away, so things are still uncertain.

"But hopefully we will have some warm sunshine at times."

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Chris Bulmer said: “After a cool start to the week, temperatures are expected to return back to around average through the week.“What we’re keeping an eye on for the latter part of the week is how far north this plume of warm air comes. This brings the potential for outbreaks of heavy rain in places.“There’s still a lot to be determined for the Jubilee weekend forecast.

"On balance, it looks like after a showery start, though still fine in places, high-pressure will attempt to build from the west, bringing more settled and drier weather, at least for some.”