UK could hit 30C on Monday - but strong winds and rain lie ahead

Before blustery wind and rain moves in this week, a bank holiday on Monday could bring 30C sunshine to areas of the UK. The Midlands is expected to experience the highest temperatures, while Wales is expected for its hottest late August Bank Holiday on record. It comes after the Met Office announced last week that even though the summer is now over, it is expected to be one of the country's hottest on record. However, the remnants of hurricane Erin, which has since been weakened, are forecast to first sweep Northern Ireland and then across the United Kingdom's mainland.

For the remainder of the bank holiday in southern England, dry, misty, 26C weather is forecast. The best of the blue sky is predicted in the Midlands, where up to 29C or 30C is possible on Monday. The two million people expected to attend Notting Hill Carnival in west London on Sunday and Monday, as well as those attending Reading and Leeds festivals, Creamfields in Cheshire, and All Points East in the capital's Victoria Park this weekend, are all likely to have plenty of warm weather. And in Wales, it could be a memorable late August bank holiday weekend as the new record for this time is 26 degrees. 5C at Crossway in 1991 - and areas of eastern Wales could experience 27C temperatures this time. In several parts of the United Kingdom on Tuesday, the weather is expected to become cooler, as well as the rain and winds, but eastern areas of England are expected to hold heat for one day in the current spell, with 26C.

However, conditions become more unstable and potentially stormy from midweek to times, with higher winds and occasional thundery downpours – although forecasts for the second half of the week remain uncertain at this time. Hurricane Erin, which skirted the Caribbean and east coasts of the United States this week, has pUShed tropical air into the UK this weekend, but it will also help the hurricane's remnants get closer. The Met Office expects that rain will persist throughout the week, but that high winds will remain offshore.

Travel woes for bank holiday

Many people who want to get the most out of the warm weather while it lasts may have to deal with travel delays and cancellations. A strike on the CrossCountry network could make returning from Leeds festival a little more difficult, while engineering developments may mean no LNER trains in or out of London King's Cross. Customers are being told not to travel on any CrossCountry routes other than those from Birmingham, Penzance, Bournemouth, Bourdemouth and Guildford. On Monday, the CrossCountry strike will continue, but there will be no trains between Birmingham, Reading, and the south coast of England. There will also be no transportation between Leicester, Cambridge, and Stansted Airport. The RNLI also urged people planning a trip to the coast to use lifeguarded beaches and to be aware of strong tides. A long drought has resulted in a significant shortfall of water in England this summer, with hosepipe bans imposed for millions, some of which are expected to persist into the winter. According to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, a statutory research group, the UK is on target for one of its worst harvests on record. Although linking climate change to particular weather events can be difficult, scientists estimate that climate change is generally producing bouts of hot weather that are longer, more widespread, and more common. After an unusually hot spring, four summer heatwaves came in a quick succession, it appears that climate change is having an effect on 2025's weather.