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England set for stunning late summer sunshine
A miserable September is about to go out with a bang as temperatures hit 25 - 28 C
WHAT'S HAPPENED?
FORECASTERS have predicted soaring temperatures - as high as 28C - by the end of the week as a 'blocking high' brings Mediterranean air to the UK.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
High pressure which is currently sitting over Europe is set to drift
northwards over the next couple of days.
Alex Deakin, on the BBC's Weatherwise, explains that this system is called a 'blocking high'. As such, it deflects the weather fronts which normally sweep across the UK off the Atlantic, and bring with them our islands' characteristic damp weather.
The 'blocking high' extends all the way south to Spain, and is drawing warm air up from the Mediterranean. Southeast and central England will enjoy the best temperatures of around 25C, with an area just north of London possibly sweltering at 27.
MeteoGroup, meanwhile, is going one better, claiming that London temperatures could top 28C.
Deakin points out that the temperatures are not exceptional - in 2006, the southeast of England enjoyed highs of 28C around this time of year - but they will be way above the average of 17C.
After a miserable summer with average temperatures of around 14C, bookmakers William Hill have slashed the odds of September having the hottest day of the year from 20/1 to 14/1.
Don't bet the house on it though: the hottest day so far this year was on June 27 when the mercury tipped 33C.
WHAT NEXT?
From Sunday, it's business as usual: cold northerly winds and the long descent into winter. ·
