How hot will the weather be in September in the UK?
Large parts of England have experienced the fourth heatwave of summer this week, with temperatures already peaking at over 33C.
An amber heat health alert was put in place for the West Midlands, East Midlands, south-east, London, and east of England until 6pm on Wednesday after temperatures peaked at 33.4C on Tuesday.
Much of the rest of England is already under yellow alerts, with the hot weather in the summer holidays expected to continue until the weekend.
The Met Office expects more hot sunshine on Wednesday, cooler but still warm conditions on Thursday, and a return to very hot weather in the south and south-east by Friday.
With searing temperatures and dry spells, officials have warned that England is suffering from 'nationally significant' water shortfalls despite rain in July.
The national drought group, which includes the Met Office, regulators, government, water companies and other organisations, has met as five areas of the country remain in drought, with six more in prolonged dry weather status.
When will the latest heatwave end?
The current heatwave, is expected to last through the rest of the week, according to the Met Office.
After a slight dip of a couple of degrees on Thursday (14 August), Friday should see temperatures in the south and south-east remain very hot, reaching up to 31°C.
However, a shift to fresher air is forecast from Sunday (17 August), particularly in northern and western areas.
Thunderstorms and heavy showers are also forecast, especially in northern England, potentially bringing a more abrupt end to the heatwave conditions by the weekend.
How hot will it be in September?
The Met Office's long-range forecast, that currently looks at weather up to 10 September, suggests that unsettled conditions are expected to be more prevalent in September.
Temperatures are expected to be above normal, the Met Office said, with a chance of some hot spells, especially in the south, giving way to a potential 'Indian summer' – a term used to describe warmer spells in autumnal months.
Average temperatures in September range between 13C to 18C, depending on what part of the country you are in so the Met Office's current forecast suggests that temperatures could be in the 20s at least.
Following dry spells, the Met Office say there could be some heavy and thundery rain – but this will be interspersed with periods of drier and more settled weather.
However, the Met Office say their forecasts for September are difficult to predict and details during this time frame 'are low confidence'.
Why are long-range forecasts difficult to predict?
Precise long-range forecasts can be unreliable, which the Met Office say is because weather is a 'chaotic' system.
They explain: 'Small differences in conditions now, such as a shift in temperature, wind or humidity, can have a significant impact on the weather conditions we might see over the coming days.'
The forecaster states that 'even seemingly small discrepancies in the current conditions can lead to inaccuracies that grow as the forecast runs further into the future'.
They add: 'Our long-range forecast… provides an indication of how the weather might change, or be different from normal, (ie warmer, colder, wetter, drier) across the whole UK.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
38 minutes ago
- CNN
Climate change is making things even worse for the poorly housed
Climate change is making Hong Kong's summers hotter. Yet tens of thousands of residents remain sardined into homes smaller than a parking space, where staying cool is a luxury few can afford as the climate warms. In small, enclosed spaces with little ventilation or cooling, indoor temperatures can soar past 100°F (37.7°C), posing serious health risks for the city's most vulnerable.
Washington Post
5 hours ago
- Washington Post
Bright, warm Saturday still suggested waning of summer
It was the third Saturday in August, and although Washington may have felt the heat and noticed the humidity, signs could also be seen that summer was waning. Such signs generally do appear by the third Saturday in August, even if they are not always obvious on a day when the temperature reached 92 degrees — four degrees above the normal high for Aug. 16 in the capital.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
European wildfire smoke dampens UK heatwave with unusually hazy conditions
Smoke from wildfires in Southern Europe has brought hazy conditions to the UK, disrupting the current heatwave, forecasters have said. The UK experienced the fourth heatwave of the summer this week, with some areas seeing the mercury climb above 33C in the hottest places. However, the Met Office said "smoke from wildfires in Spain and Portugal, plus Saharan dust, has drifted over the UK'. This means the UK should expect "enhanced sunsets and sunrises in the coming days - deeper reds and oranges thanks to light scattering,' the forecaster added. Scientists say the phenomenon is linked to two processes known as Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering. Rayleigh scattering, caused by tiny air molecules, normally makes the sky appear blue by scattering shorter wavelengths of light, such as violet and blue, according to the Royal Meteorological Society. But larger particles released by wildfires, such as soot and ash, trigger Mie scattering, which scatters all wavelengths more evenly and allows longer red and orange wavelengths to dominate. Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst told Sky News the haze "will hang around for the next few days". The Met Office's forecast for Sunday says low clouds retreating towards the North Sea means there will be 'plenty of sunshine for most'. There will be strong winds in the South West of England, and it will remain warm along the eastern coast. Spain battled 14 major fires driven by high winds and aggravated by heat on Friday as authorities warned of "unfavourable conditions" to tackle flames that have already killed seven people and burned an area the size of London. Firefighters have been battling to put out blazes across southern Europe in one of the worst summers for wildfires in 20 years. An early two-week heatwave and southerly winds were worsening the situation in Spain, Virginia Barcones, director general of emergency services, said. Wildfires have burned more than 157,000 hectares in Spain so far this year, almost double the annual average, according to the European Union's Forest Fire Information Service. In neighbouring Portugal, meanwhile, thousands of firefighters were battling five large blazes in central and northern parts of the country, with one fire in Trancoso, some 350 km northeast of Lisbon, now raging for six days. Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. The EU monitoring agency says that 2024 was the hottest year on record both globally and in Europe, which experienced its second-highest number of 'heat stress' days.
