The Weather UK cooldown is set to arrive this weekend, with temperatures falling across the UK after a spell of intensely hot weather. Northern Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England will feel the sharpest change, and the lower readings will end heatwave conditions in some areas.
In northern Scotland, maximum temperatures on Saturday are expected to be up to 7 degrees Celsius lower than on Thursday. North-west England is due to see a drop of 5 to 6 degrees Celsius and should fall to the low 20s by Saturday.
Met Office and UK temperatures
The Met Office said fresher northerly winds will drive the fall in temperatures. Southern England has met or exceeded the heatwave threshold for 12 consecutive days, but the weekend change is uneven: the Midlands, Wales and southern England will feel some relief while parts of those areas stay above the heatwave threshold, with maxima widely between 25–27C.
High pressure will remain close to the UK at least into early next week, so the cooler spell does not bring a quick end to dry conditions. No significant rain is forecast into early next week, and the dry weather is already stretching across large parts of the country.
Wisley, Surrey dryness
A few locations across south-east England have now seen close to 30 days without rain. Wisley, Surrey has reached that mark, and Herstmonceux, East Sussex is in the same position. Several other locations in the east of England and the West Midlands have gone more than 20 days without rain.
That dry run has already fed into hosepipe bans for more than eight million households in England. Wales and Northern Ireland are also far drier than average, so the weekend cooldown changes temperatures first, not the wider dry pattern.
