Weather: Scotland on course for a heatwave

Temperatures set to reach up to 26C, says Met Office. Picture: Getty

Temperatures are likely to climb as high as between 25C and 26C across the country, while parts of England are expected to enjoy temperatures of around 30C from Wednesday.

The July average is about 19C for inland areas but even Scottish islands are likely to hit the 20s this week, said forecasters from the Met Office.

There will possibly be some showers today and toward the end of the week, but nothing near the volume of downpour seen on Saturday across much of Scotland.

Stuart Brooks, a Met Office forecaster in Aberdeen, said: “We are looking at very warm weather to continue right through the week.

“It was 23.3C in Edinburgh on Sunday and you can probably add a degree or two to that later this week.

“Most of the inland parts of the country will see those values.

“It is a Scottish heatwave.”

Although there will be some winds off the sea, they are unlikely to dent above seasonal temperatures.

Mr Brooks added: “Evenings will feel warm and dew points typically around 11 degrees will be around the 15-16 degree mark, so that brings that humid side to things.

“It’s not going to get any drier. But we’re not looking at the threat of thunderstorms.”

Over the weekend, heavy rain left parts of Britain facing flood misery as thunder and lightning damaged homes and caused travel disruption.

The stormy weather caused travel disruption at London’s Heathrow Airport as airlines were forced to cancel 20 per cent of flights for a two-hour period.

Up to 30mm an hour fell in some places, more than the average monthly rainfall for the whole of July, and Westonbirt in Gloucestershire experienced 79mm overnight on Friday and through Saturday.

Parts of eastern Scotland and England had “yellow” rain warnings posted yesterday but some predicted storms did not materialise in the south.

The wet weekend prompted flood warnings down south from the Environment Agency, including 45 flood alerts yesterday morning and one more serious flood warning for the River Penk at Somerford in the West Midlands after 40mm fell in 12 hours. There were no such warnings in Scotland.

The heat is again likely to bring with it the risk of heavy showers and thunder storms, especially in the south, on Wednesday and Thursday, but the warm spell is likely to stretch on into the following week, said forecasters.

The severe weather caused damage in England over the weekend, including when a family of four were forced out of their home after the semi-detached bungalow in Holland-on-Sea in Essex was struck by lightning.

The roof of another property in Chelmsford collapsed after it was also hit, and fire crews across Essex and Kent dealt with a number of other fires started by the lightning. And in the Royal United Hospital in Bath, 27 patients had to be moved from a ward when heavy rain brought down part of a ceiling.

FORECAST

Today: Will see one or two scattered showers in Scotland but will be otherwise dry and quite warm with some low cloud in the morning. Some eastern coastal areas will remain dull and misty. Winds in Edinburgh only up to 6mph.

Tuesday: Will be mainly dry and bright but there could be isolated showers in the south.

Wednesday will find few, if any, showers and 95 per cent or more of the country will be dry. Less wind and possibly lower temperatures but still at the July average of 19C or upwards.

Wednesday: Temperatures could be hitting 26C in Glasgow with some cloudy periods and winds of around 5-9mph. Cloudier in the northeast but remaining dry and temperatures of 18C.