Heavy rainfall and thunder are expected to put an end to a heatwave hitting parts of the UK towards the end of this week.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday are set to see peaks of 29C but this could be the end of the hot spell - according to reports.
The Met Office has said cloud, rain and thunderstorms will sweep in over the latter part of the weekend and lead to a cooling off.
This has been tagged as the beginning of ‘Storm Oscar’.
What is Storm Oscar?
Storm Oscar is currently bringing heavy rain to parts of the Canaries
— Met Office (@metoffice) June 6, 2023
This area of low pressure will move northwards, leading to a change with our weather this weekend
Increasing heat and humidity drawn up from the near continent will lead to heavy showers and thunderstorms ⚡ pic.twitter.com/1kbETYVEnb
Storm Oscar is, according to the Met Office, currently bringing heavy rain to parts of the Canary Islands and could soon be on its way to the UK.
“This area of low pressure will move northwards, leading to a change with our weather this weekend,” the weather centre wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
“Increasing heat and humidity drawn up from the near continent will lead to heavy showers and thunderstorms.”
Sunday and Monday (June 11 and 12) both have forecasts of showers. But Sunday afternoon is set to bear the brunt of Storm Oscar with thunder and lightning on the cards.
Why is it called Storm Oscar
Storm Oscar has been named by the Spanish Met Service @AEMET_Esp
— Met Office (@metoffice) June 4, 2023
Heavy rain and brisk winds are forecast across the Canary Islands this week, leading to the risk of large waves and localised flooding ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/XeTA56fbcm
The Met Office has an alphabetical list of storm names which impact the UK, but weather watches might have noticed Oscar is not on there.
That is because the storm originated in Spain and has been named Oscar by the Met Office’s Spanish equivalent AEMET.
What has the Met Office said about future heatwaves?
So far the hottest temperature in the UK was 25.1C in Porthmadog, northwest Wales, on May 30.
But Simon Partridge, forecaster for the Met Office, has told the Standard that he is “certain” that higher temperatures are on the way.
The weather is expected to hit the “borderline” criteria for a heatwave, with the southwest of England most likely to see it, the forecaster said for the coming weeks.
