Forecasters' surprise for a barbecue summer

10:57 21 May 2009

According to forecasters, Continental hotspots will be feeling the brunt of harsh storms while Britain basks in a long-awaited burst of summer sun over the bank holiday weekend.

Temperatures may peak at 23C (73F) in southern England on Saturday or Sunday, which would eclipse last year's high of 21C according to Meteogroup.

The winds should remain light and the UK should be kept warm over the weekend but it won't be complete wall-to-wall sun.

Friday will see some cloud and rain move into Northern Ireland and strike the west of Scotland and northwest England. Other than some cloud and brief showers, the start of the bank holiday weekend should be fine.

Saturday will continue with some rain over Scotland and Northern Ireland again but it will clear in the west.

However, it's Sunday which is set to be the finest day. Other than a touch of breeze in the north, the rest of England will be consistently sunny.

MeteoGroup forecaster Rob Hutchinson said: "The weather is really looking quite nice for southern England over the holiday, with quite a lot of sunshine.

"It may be showery on Thursday but we should get temperatures of 21c after that and it might get up to 23c on Saturday or Sunday. The south will get the best of the heat and the sunshine."

A summer of sun

The Met Office has already predicted that the June-August period this year will be a barbecue summer.

Health chiefs have even gone as far as recommending that Brits consider painting their homes white to reflect the sun in its Department of Health's Heatwave Plan for England designed to combat climate change.

Stunning sunsets Put your feet up to these great views.

In terms of the forecast, Met Office spokesman Richard Aldcroft was more reserved stating: "We are expecting temperatures in the UK in June to August to be higher than normal.

"Rainfall is likely to be near or below average. A repeat of the wet summers of 2007 and 2008 is unlikely.

"We can't say at the moment whether there will be a heat wave as it is almost impossible to predict temperatures that far ahead.

"We will have more of an idea when we release our next seasonal update at the end of this month."