Is there a heatwave on the way for the South West?

By weather presenter: Charlie Powell

There's a lot of talk about heatwaves this week, and we are going to see some very warm air move across parts of the UK from Tuesday. Southeast England looks like the hottest part where, on Thursday, temperatures could get as high as 37°C!

Click below to see what that looks like:

But just what is a heatwave?

The Met Office definition says:"When a location records a period of at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold".

That threshold varies across counties in the South West. For Devon and Cornwall it's 25°C, for Somerset and Dorset it's 26°C and for Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 27°C.

So will there be a heatwave here? Well as high pressure moves away to the east we'll drag in heat from Spain and France, where temperatures are currently close to 40°C...

By the time it reaches the West Country it'll have cooled slightly, but parts of Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire are likely to get into the low 30s on Tuesday afternoon.

Read more:

• Heatwave sets new 2019 weather record as parts of Britain sizzle in 34C

• 'We're monitoring the situation carefully' - One of Devon's biggest reservoirs drops by nearly half

Further west we'll see highs close to 30°C, and in the west of Cornwall the low-to-mid twenties.

The heat then looks like it'll break down with some thundery showers on Tuesday evening, leaving the rest of the week a little more changeable and not as hot.

We're likely to see a few more showers and temperatures in the high twenties, until fresher air arrives during Friday. The nights, however, look as if they'll stay pretty warm and uncomfortable.

So, less of a heatwave for the southwest of England, but still some very summery weather to come for the next few days

Get the full weather forecast for the South West here.