Britain is heading for an "Indian summer" leading up to Halloween, with temperatures up to 23C (73F). Forecasters say a plume of exceptionally hot air will be pushed from Africa north across Europe.
Temperatures are expected to nudge into the 30s in France, and hit the 20s when the weather reaches the UK, the Mirror reports. The effects, lasting up to six days, come at the end of what could be hottest year the UK has ever experienced,
The mini-heatwave is due to start next Monday (October 17, with Wednesday predicted to be the hottest day. The South is expected to be warmer than the North but the whole country should expect sunny spells.
Netweather forecaster Nick Finnis said: “Some computer models show 22C or 23C by midweek, bringing an Indian summer. An exceptionally warm plume of air from north-west Africa looks like being pumped across Europe and to Britain, with up to the low 30s in France, and over 20C in southern Britain.”
The plume of warm air from Africa could confirm 2022's status as the hottest year on record for Britain, with January to September the hottest first nine months of the year since 1884, the year the Met Office records began.
Dr Mark McCarthy, of the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre, said: “It was the warmest year so far up to the end of September, with each month since January being warmer than average. 2022 is on track to be one of the warmest years on record if warmer than average conditions persist.”
Meteorologists had forecasted a cold spell on the horizon for the UK, with nobody predicting the African plume would bring a warm spell to Britain.
Weathertrending meteorologist John Hammond said: “It is amazing how a forecast can go so very wrong. The culprit for the chaos is an extremely distorted jet stream, whose exaggerated loops and cut-offs have out-foxed the various computer models in recent days - something we might have to get used to as we head towards winter.”
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