NORTH-EAST folk have been making the most of the bank holiday weekend weather, flocking to the coast, other beauty spots – and the pub – as Britain basks in the sunshine.
Bank Holiday Monday has now been confirmed as the warmest day of the year so far – with temperatures expected to continue to climb in parts of the UK.
People enjoyed the balmy conditions as 24.6C was recorded in Kinloss in Scotland, surpassing the previous high for 2021, set on March 30 at Kew Gardens in south-west London.
Temperatures were even predicted to reach 25C in parts of the UK later today as people enjoy the long weekend and newly restored freedoms following the lifting of many lockdown restrictions.
Although a new benchmark for the year has been set, it is not expected to last for long, as temperatures are expected to climb to 27C (80.6F) on Wednesday before cooler, fresher air moves in.
And the Met Office warned there could then be thunderstorms on the way.
“There will potentially be some thunderstorms by midweek, the first bout of showers will come into parts of the South West and there will be a few thunderstorms in that,” said Becky Mitchell of the Met Office.
The storms in the South West are expected to hit on Wednesday, with the South East due a bit of a soaking by Friday.
“There’s a chance of some thundery breakdown in the South East and we could have some quite intense storms there,” Ms Mitchell said.
“There’s still a lot of uncertainty but with the warm and humid weather we are having we have the key ingredients for thunderstorms.”
May has been the fourth wettest on record for the UK, and the wettest ever for Wales.
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