North-south divide for UK weather

Jul 2 2009

The UK is experiencing a north-south divide in its weather, with Londoners set to swelter through the hottest day of the year while other areas have been hit by thunderstorms.

The current sunny spell is the hottest since July 2006, with Wednesday seeing the highest temperatures of the year at 31.8C (89.2F).

But although the mercury is set to soar still further in the south-east, the north and west have been hit by downpours.

Tiffany Curnick, a forecaster for MeteoGroup UK, the weather arm of the Press Association, expected temperatures to reach around 32C (89.6F) in the London area.

"We've got the hottest day of the year in the east but further north and in the west it's really unsettled and thundery," she said.

"There is a band of thundery rain across south-west England, the west and Northern Ireland and there will be a lot of thunderstorms in Scotland as well."

The Met Office also predicted the peak of the heatwave in the capital, with temperatures generally "a degree or two up on on Wednesday".

Players at Wimbledon faced hot and sunny weather although there was a small risk of a light shower in the evening, before the weather turns more unsettled tomorrow.

Meanwhile, fears over flooding have eased since the Environment Agency warned on Wednesday that the heavy rain could lead to flash floods.

Forecasters have already raised the heatwave warning alert level from two to three. The heatwave plan alert is in four stages, with green level one signalling "summer preparedness and long-term planning". Level two is amber and signals "alert and readiness", while three is red for "heatwave action". Level four is classed as "red emergency".