Londoners will get to enjoy glorious sunshine this weekend with temperatures tipped to rise into the 20s – making for the perfect beer garden weather.
Warm winds from Spain and southern France are set to sweep across London and the south-east from Saturday.
After a wet and windy start to May, people are looking forward to a summery weekend ahead with high temperatures lingering later into the evening allowing for more comfortable al fresco plans.
London is expected to benefit from the hottest weather with temperatures set to outshine Rome and Sicily in Italy.
Met Office spokesperson Steven Keates said: “We are going to finally see something a little warmer coming our way probably by this coming Saturday. There will certainly be a different feel to the weather compared to what we’ve had for weeks and weeks.
“We will probably have a more humid feel. If you are staying in a pub beer garden it may well be that the nights won’t turn cold so quickly with the warmer air.
“There is some uncertainty as to how this is going to play out but temperatures potentially just scraping above 20 degrees by May 8 or 9.
“London and the M11 corridor seems a fairly reasonable stab at where it will be warmest come Saturday depending on how much cloud there is around.”
Instead of low pressure with winds coming down from the north, the weekend will benefit from low pressure to the west of the UK which will bring a south westerly wind towards Saturday.
But hopes of a mini heatwave will depend on how much cloud there is and how much sunshine there is as a result, the Met Office explains.
Mr Keates added: “It looks like it will b the south east part of the UK that is most likely to see these higher temperatures creeping up to the 20 degree mark.
“It will be a welcome change for those looking forward to warmer weather after a chilly start to May. It’s not quite so bone chillingly cold like it has been over the last few weeks.
Forecasters predict the hot and sunny spell will be short lived with temperatures dropping below average next week with possible heavy rain and strong winds.
Mr Keates added: “It looks as though it probably won’t be too long lived, maybe a couple of days of warmer weather before temperatures probably fall away again.”
