Sunshine returns to UK as temperatures may reach 20°C in parts of the country

File photo: People enjoying the sun over the Easter weekend (Photo: PA)

Temperatures may reach 20°C degrees for parts of the UK next week, the Met Office has said.

After a spell of cold weather over the last week, the Met Office has predicted that temperatures will increase in the coming days, with several areas seeing temperatures in the high teens.

“We are expecting a change to warmer weather during the week ahead, with temperatures likely to reach the high teens in places, and locally perhaps just nudging into the low 20s Celsius,” Marco Petagna, senior operational meteorologist at the Met Office told i.

Mr Petagna said the high temperatures are expected across Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with a possible of 21°C.

“Low cloud and onshore wind” are both expected in some coastal areas of the North Sea, however, which should lead to cooler temperatures “further rain at times” for some areas.

Mr Petagna said confidence is “very low” regarding the weather on the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend.

“[But] current thinking is that higher pressure is likely to build in across the UK from the north-west, bringing many parts some drier weather, albeit perhaps with temperatures returning towards average,” he added.

“Rain could still hit the UK on Bank Holiday Monday, arriving from the north-west.”

Many areas across the UK experienced plunging temperatures and heavy rainfall over the last 48 hours while temperatures were around 4-6°C below the 14°C to 15°C average for the month, the Met Office said.

Northerly winds hit the UK earlier this month, which Dr Matt Patterson, a postdoctoral research assistant in atmospheric physics at the University of Oxford, said was caused by “big persistent region of high pressure” to the north-west of the UK.

But April also saw the hottest weekend of 2024, when a high of 21.8°C was recorded in the village of Writtle, in Essex.

That was swiftly followed by warnings of a tornado hitting the UK. Residents across Staffordshire reported damage caused by the tornado, including upturned caravans, uprooted trees, damaged cars and tiles being blown off roofs.

Last April, temperature records were shattered in the some European countries, with some parts of southern Spain seeing heights of 40ºC. Local officials considered changing school schedules to take the heat into account, with some warning of wildfires.

Europe experienced its hottest summer on record in 2022.