Met Office gives verdict on how long ‘very warm’ weather will last after hottest day of year

Parts of the UK are poised to bask in glorious sunshine this week as the Met Office forecasts more sunny spells with the mercury continuing to rise.

Britain saw the hottest day of the year so far on Sunday, with a temperature of 24.4C recorded in Plymouth. Many in southern and western parts enjoyed sunny weather well over 20C during the first two days of the bank holiday weekend.

According to the Met Office, settled and sunny conditions will continue on Monday with most areas seeing plenty of sunshine. However, patchy rain is possible in the far north and a cooling breeze can take over at times.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said “high pressure continues to dominate” the country this week as a “cold front is shifting away”, bringing more fine weather.

While the temperatures on Monday are expected to remain in the late teens in the south and close to 10-14C in the north, slightly colder than the last couple of days, this week could see maximum temperatures even higher than Sunday’s.

The warmest and sunniest conditions are likely in the west and northwest with a cooling breeze occasionally taking over the south and east.

On Monday the warmest temperatures will again be in Wales and south-west England, will the mercury possibly reaching 20C.

And from Tuesday onwards forecasts are predicting several days of fine weather with potential maximums of 24 or 25 in the southwest and south Wales.

In its long-range forecast, the Met Office predicts a potential for “very warm conditions” as we head into June, the official start to the meteorological summer, particularly in sheltered western and northwestern areas.

Dry and settled conditions are expected for much of the UK, the Met Office says looking further ahead into early June.

Although cloud cover may intermittently affect the northeast and eastern counties, temperatures are forecast to warm up away from windward eastern coasts. Light winds will prevail, except for the possibility of moderate breezes in the far south.