Bank holiday weather: UK set for record-breaking temperatures

The ‘hotter than Spain’ headlines are back again as forecasters predict that this Bank Holiday Monday will be the warmest in almost 20 years.

The Met Office had initially expected temperatures to peak at 22C over the break, but that estimate has climbed as the working week draws to an end. The mercury is now expected to hit 27C in parts of England on Monday.

Indeed, much of the UK will be “hotter than the French Riviera and the Costa del Sol”, Sky News reports.

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If those forecasts prove accurate, it will mark the warmest early-May Bank Holiday since 1999, and will be within spitting distance of the all-time record of 28C, recorded in Cheltenham in 1995.

London and central England are expected to enjoy the lion’s share of the mini-heatwave. "Although many may head to the beach to soak up the sun, it is likely to be a few degrees cooler on the coast as sea breezes develop,” said BBC weather forecaster Nikki Berry.

But Met Office meteorologist Mark Wilson told Sky News that all parts of the country can expect a “lovely weekend”, with even rainy Western Scotland promised “lots of fine weather” between the showers.

The long-term outlook is bright, too, with temperatures expected to remain in the 20s until Thursday.