Bank holiday set for record temperatures
- Published
Geoff Barlow's Labrador retriever Jake enjoyed the sea at Southbourne, Essex, having just learned to swim
UK temperatures are forecast to soar over the weekend, with Monday heading for a record high.
Forecasters say temperatures could reach 28C (82F) on Monday in parts of England, making it the hottest early May Bank Holiday on record.
The highest temperatures are expected in south-east England, particularly around London, as well as in East Anglia and the East Midlands.
Northern England and Wales are likely to have highs of 23C.
It will be slightly cooler in south-west England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with temperatures expected to range from 19C to 22C.
The warmest early May Bank Holiday Monday on record was 23.6C, in 1999 - and this Monday could be the hottest since 1978, when the holiday was first introduced.
The average high for the May Bank Holiday in London is about 18C.
Red and Ginny soaked up the sun in Airmyn near Goole, East Yorkshire
Dominic Wong, in Bournemouth, went for a spontaneous dip after taking this photo
James and his dog Archie also basked in the sunshine in the Chiltern Hills, in south-east England
Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said the record for Monday is likely to be broken, but not the record for the hottest day over the whole May Bank Holiday weekend - that was a temperature of 28.6C set on the Saturday in 1995.
He said: "23.6C is what we've got to beat, and we're forecasting highs of at least 26C, 27C, possibly 28C, so I think we can safely say that's going to be beaten.
"But whether or not we will beat the record for the whole weekend put together, we'll be close, but at the moment looking at it we may just come short."
Walkers were among those enjoying the Kennet and Avon Canal in Newbury, Berkshire
Wind turbines dominate the horizon at Moreton, Wirral
It will come in sharp contrast to last Monday, when some parts of the UK experienced "unseasonably cold weather" and saw more than half a month's rainfall in a day.
Meanwhile the week before that, London experienced the warmest April day for nearly 70 years with temperatures over 29C, as well as the hottest London Marathon on record.
And in early April, parts of Scotland, northern England and north Wales were covered in heavy snow.
The highest May temperature recorded in the UK was on 29 May 1944, when Regent's Park, Horsham and Tunbridge Wells reached 32.8C (91F).