Scots set for soaring temperatures in days with 25C predicted after wet and windy start to August

Scottish Sun

2 days ago

Drought conditions are continuing in the eastern half of Scotland, despite summer downpours
HEATING UP Scots set for soaring temperatures in days with 25C predicted after wet and windy start to August
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SCOTS will enjoy a sunny spin-off from England's heatwave this week with midweek sunshine and highs of 25C.
Southern Britain is expected to experience its fourth heatwave of the summer in the coming days – with temperatures up to 35C.
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Temperatures are set to rise to as high as 25C in Scotland
Credit: Getty
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There will be plenty of sunshine in the coming days
Credit: Alamy
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Tuesday and Wednesday will be particularly warm
Credit: Andrew Barr
While the south of the UK enjoys high pressure and warm air seeping up from Europe, parts of Scotland will remain unsettled with the risk of showers coming in from the Atlantic, especially tomorrow.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, when pupils begin returning to school, most of the country will enjoy sunny spells and temperatures up to 25C in the west.
Speaking about the south of the UK, Met Office forecaster Honor Criswick said: "We pick up a south easterly wind, picking up that warm air across Europe where there have been heatwave conditions.
'There are a few things going on, which is why temperatures are starting to increase.
'For it technically to be a heatwave, we need to see those high temperatures over three consecutive days.
'It could be a heatwave, or we could just see an increase in the heat.
It is certainly going to be feeling warm and, for many of us, plenty of sunshine
Honor Criswick
'But it is certainly going to be feeling warm and, for many of us, plenty of sunshine.'
Meanwhile, drought conditions continue in the eastern half of Scotland despite summer downpours.
Torrential showers fell in the affected areas in July and during Storm Floris last Monday.
But environment watchdogs SEPA say cloudbursts were either too quick to soak into the ground or fell in places where it wasn't needed.
'Lots of sunny spells' after Floris leaves 100k without power & cancels flights as Met Eireann reveal full week forecast
In its latest water scarcity report, the government's environment agency said that while July rainfall was average to below average overall, it fell in short, intense bursts, particularly in the east.
At Baluniefield in Dundee, over half of the month's rainfall was recorded in a single day.
Sepa added that while this rainfall caused temporary increases in river levels, it did not 'soak into the ground'.
Therefore, it failed to significantly replenish groundwater supplies.
At several monitoring sites in Fife, groundwater levels were the lowest ever recorded for July.
This means that the Deveron, Ythan, Don, Esk, Firth of Tay and the Tyne river catchments remain at 'moderate' scarcity for water.
What needs to happen for Scotland to officially experience a heatwave?
THERE is certain criteria that the Scottish weather needs to meet before it offically becomes a heatwave.
Experts at the Met Office have revealed that in the UK, a location needs to record three days above a 'temperature threshold' for it to be official.
This threshold is calculated using the average daily maximum temperature on July 15 between 1991 and 2020 - and varies across the country depending on where it is.
For Scotland, the threshold is 25C.
This means that for the country to officially experience a heatwave, the mercury levels must be 25C or higher for at least three consecutive days.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Scotland was 34.8C.
This was measured at Charterhall in the Scottish Borders during a heatwave on July 19 back in 2022.
Heatwaves are usually caused by high-pressure systems and are common in the UK during the summer.
This is because of the position of the jet stream during these months
Claire Tunaley, SEPA Senior Hydrologist – Water Resources Unit, said: 'Although August began with wet and windy weather, the reality is that the rainfall hasn't reached the parts of the country that need it most.
"The longer-term picture, particularly in the east, remains one of sustained pressure on our water environment.
'July's rain came too quickly to do much good.
"What we need is steady, sustained rainfall to allow the environment to recover, not short bursts that run straight off dry ground.
'We continue to work with water users, including farmers and businesses, to manage help them resources efficiently.'