WX Charts maps have turned bright orange, red and even black, indicating that 18 counties in the UK are set to experience a record-breaking July heatwave with temperatures soaring to 41C. The maps show highs of 41C by July 11, after temperatures ramp up from July 8 onwards.
Counties affected
The counties expected to bear the brunt include Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire and Lancashire. Other areas include Cheshire, Shropshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, as well as Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Surrey.
Temperature timeline
The mercury is forecast to hit 35C from July 8, then 40C on July 10, and 41C a day later on July 11. According to Netweather, a cooler start to July is predicted before the more intense temperatures are expected to follow.
Forecaster insights
Netweather stated: "It is increasingly looking likely that there will be further potential for very hot weather to return starting in the second week of July." The ECMWF model ensemble mean outputs for around 8 July have the Azores High becoming displaced and centred over northern France and southern Britain, with another region of heat developing over Spain and Portugal and pushing up into France. This could create another 'heat dome' over western Europe, most likely in the third week of July, especially if the high pressure pushes east of the Greenwich Meridian and produces another southerly airflow through Spain, Portugal and western France.
Netweather added: "A return to very hot weather looks unlikely during the first week, as we will move into a pattern dominated by a strong ridge of high pressure from the Azores to the south and south-west of Britain, with westerly and north-westerly winds on its northern flank. The weather will be more changeable but still quite dry for much of the country. There is likely to be a north-south split in terms of sunshine amounts, with plenty of sunshine in the south and south-west, nearest to the high pressure, but often cloudier conditions further north. It's the sort of weather that often gets described as 'usable' with not a lot going on and moderate temperatures."
