The UK could be hit by its first "soft heatwave" of the year, according to an export. Jim Dale, the British Weather Services' senior meteorologist, believes temperatures could soon soar.
Speaking to The Express, Mr Dale said he believes the mercury could rise to the mid-twenties from April 15. He said: "We do get heatwaves in April, it does happen. It'll be a soft heatwave for the second half of April, it could get somewhere in the mid-20s pushing to May, in that general direction.
"I can't be overly detailed at the moment, but the signs are there for this kind of change - it's when you see the charts going in that direction. The only thing we have to work with is unpredictability - but it is certainly going that way at the moment."
The forecast is based on the interactive maps and weather models which show a plume of warm air hitting Northern France on Wednesday, April 17. This is expected to bring temperatures to 20C in London.
In the north of the country, temperatures could reach highs of 19C. However, coastal areas such as Norfolk and Sussex are expected to see temperatures two or three degrees lower than the inland.
Mr Dale added that there is a very low possibility of temperatures reaching the 20s at this time of year. This is because the ground and sea have not had time to warm up.
"We are still waiting for our first UK named storm of the year," Mr Dale added. "We have had continental storms - and we had about six by this time last year.
"This year we have had none. But that doesn't yet mean we are out of the woods as next week it does get a bit gravelly."
