Wales has seen nearly a whole month without rain, and while it has been sunny temperatures have not been particularly high. This has meant that an official heatwave has not been declared - until now.
The area of high pressure which has been responsible for the last couple of weeks of settled weather for much of the UK will drift away towards Scandinavia, allowing a plume of warmer, humid air from the south to influence the weekend weather for much of the UK.
Temperatures began to climb on Friday with a high of 30°C recorded in Porthmadog, and despite the threat of thunderstorms over this weekend the highs are expected to last into next week. BBC Wales weather presenter Derek Brockway says this meant that the heatwave criteria "could be met in some parts of the country".
