Britain is about to get its hottest May bank holiday on record, and for once, the forecasters aren’t hedging their bets.
Temperatures this Monday could push past 29°C in parts of southern England, potentially smashing the existing May record and turning what’s usually a grey, drizzly long weekend into something almost unrecognisable. The Met Office has already issued alerts, and meteorologists are watching the mercury closely as a plume of warm air sweeps up from Iberia.
It’s the kind of heat that catches the country slightly off-guard. We’re not quite wired for it in late May. The paddling pool is still in the loft, the suncream is probably expired, and half the nation will spend Monday quietly regretting that they didn’t book a beer garden table last week.
“This has the potential to be a truly historic bank holiday,” one forecaster noted, adding that confidence in the high temperatures is “unusually strong” for a prediction this far out.
The current UK May temperature record stands at 29.4°C, set in 2012 at Norwick, Suffolk. That mark has stood for over a decade, but this weekend’s forecast puts it firmly in the crosshairs. Several sites across the Home Counties and East Anglia are considered the most likely candidates for a new peak reading.
It won’t be universally glorious, mind. Scotland and Northern Ireland are expected to remain cooler and cloudier, with the heat largely confined to central and southern parts of England. Those planning a bank holiday escape to the Highlands will be spared the sunburn but may watch the social media photos with a certain envy.
Health officials are already nudging people to stay hydrated, keep an eye on elderly relatives, and avoid peak sun hours between 11am and 3pm. It’s sensible advice, even if it tends to get ignored the moment someone fires up a barbecue.
The bigger question, of course, is what comes next. Record temperatures in May used to be remarkable. If this becomes the new normal, we might need to start rethinking what a British summer actually looks like.
