UK weather: 13 areas declare heatwave IS here with more set to follow as Brits brace for 33C highs TODAY
A HEATWAVE has been declared in many areas across the UK – with Brits bracing for 33C temperatures today.
The hot weather comes after heavy rain and wind battered the country for much of the summer.
Areas in West Yorkshire, Cornwall, Devon and Wales are currently facing a heatwave – with many more areas set to join the list.
According to the Met Office, a heatwave is an extended period of hot weather relative to the expected conditions of the area at that time of year.
The threshold for a heatwave varies by area and often develop due to a jet stream north of the UK.
Met Office meteorologist Amy Bokota said: “In total there’s 13 stations that have officially marked it [a heatwave].
“As you go through the next couple of days quite a few extra will be added onto that.
“33C is expected perhaps on Thursday, which is expected to be the peak.
“It will then be 32C right the way until Sunday for some places in the South.”
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: “High pressure is situated to the southeast of the UK, which is bringing more settled conditions and temperatures well above average for the time of year.
“While the highest temperatures are expected in the south, heatwave conditions are likely across much of England and Wales especially, with parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland also likely to see some unseasonably high temperatures.
“An active tropical cyclone season in the North Atlantic has helped to amplify the pattern across the North Atlantic, pushing the jet stream well to the north of the UK, allowing some very warm air to be drawn north.
“It’s a marked contrast to the much of meteorological summer, when the UK was on the northern side of the jet stream with cooler air and more unsettled weather.”