We’ve had a right old summer so far, and as much as we love a bit of sun, especially in a World Cup year, it has been a bit too hot at times. With two heatwaves just weeks apart from each other, bringing the North West up to a stifling 35°C at times, we’re left with a question: when will this end?
Well in short, not yet. The dry, sunny weather is set to stay at least over this weekend coming and into next week. But then, the threat of thunderstorms rears its head.
Met Office forecast for Sunday 19 – Tuesday 28 July for the UK
“Remaining predominantly dry for most parts of the country as high pressure is likely to remain close to the UK for much of this period. However, with the source region of the air being from the North Atlantic, it will be somewhat less hot compared to many recent days.
“Any showers during the start of the period are more likely across the far north. Towards the latter part of July, the influence of high pressure may wane somewhat, allowing a greater chance of rain, showers or thunderstorms compared to earlier in the month. Overall, temperatures are expected to remain above average during this period.”
Although things are going to get wetter, it doesn’t necessarily mean things will get much cooler. Of course, the rain will help with that, and give the grass something to hold onto, but it’ll also bring more humidity.
Will every summer be like this?
Put simply: yes. In case you hadn’t noticed, recent summers have been much hotter here in the UK – in fact, all seasons have been hotter year on year. Reaching 35°C was a rare event throughout the 20th Century – but six out of the past 10 years have passed that mark.
Looking at the trend, all signs point to future summers matching, if not beating the previous year’s temperatures.
Is the UK more susceptible to wildfires?
As we’ve seen very recently, wildfires are a serious possibility when the climate gets this hot. With wildfires in our region around Dovestone Reservoir and Tintwistle, it has become clear that these devastating events can happen easily and frequently, and with summers getting hotter it’s even more important to be extremely careful in these environments, where ground is dry and there’s little relief.
