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I don't think this bank holiday weekend could have been sunnier in my region, I've seen one wispy cloud all weekend! Yes, the midweek period is less settled, but what then? ICON 12z has settled weather back by Sunday, and here at T180: GFS at same time: Some less settled weather follows, local to the UK, but by the end of the run (T384) a link up of the Azores and Scandi systems: Heat bubbling to the south, should the wind direction favour us going into summer.

Went out for a lovely walk today and took what i believe are great pictures

No total agreement between the 3 anomaly charts I use. They all, in varying degrees suggest that 500 mb troughing will be the main driver in the 6-14 day outlook. That is as a mean over their time scales, just what the actual weather may be from day to day is not so clear. On the basis of these charts then any prolonged dry weather does seem unlikely. http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/610day/500mb.php http://mp1.met.psu.edu/~fxg1/ECMWF_0z/hgtcomp.html

I think today has been adequately covered so just posting a couple of fax charts and fingers crossed the sea fog remains just that. Just to note vis that as the fog rolled in again last night there was a 7.5C inversion from just above the surface to around 2,000ft. But I digress Overnight clear skies for most but the fog may well return along western coasts but by 0600 rain from the front(s) associated with the low to west is already impacting N. Ireland and the Western Isles Through the day this rain band will move slowly east bringing showers and cooler conditions in it's wake whilst the east/south east remains warm still, However there is the probability of thundery activity breaking out in these areas later in the day. Wednesday generally a cooler and cloudy day as the front lingers but by 1200 front(s) associated with next Atlantic depression, that is curving north south of Iceland, are already bringing rain and freshening winds to N. Ireland and western areas of the UK, This light patchy rain will move slowly east during the day although not encroaching as far as the far east where it will remain quite warm The front has decayed by Thursday leaving a brief interlude with some weak transient ridging with scattered showers and generally a cooler day. By 1200 Friday quite an intense upper low is situated south of Iceland and the cold front associated with the surface low is orientated western Scotland/Ireland The patchy rain associated with this will struggle east through Friday but again the east and south east tending to remain dry although some thundery outbreaks may occur later in the day. The battle against the block to the east is on going

Terrible weather at Stourhead today!

Nice early summer spell over in Blighty. So pleased you for guys. Just wondering if the highest temps today could be in southern parts of Northern England with the longer land flow ? ( outside the heat island of Greater London ). Our mixed spring continues over here , plenty of rain forecast in the extended forecast period and yes we have snow predicted at our elevation for the early part of next week with upper cold pool over Central Euroland. We will see ! NB. Of topic just seen highlights of the Tour De Yorkshire, shown widely on Euro TV. The Scenery looked wonderful. A good advert for the county and the crowd numbers just amazing. On par with world cup event, so they report over here. Well done to the super folk of the White Rose County . C

Sitting outside the motorhome at the campsite at Coylumbridge with a beer, after a 10 mile walk through Rothiemurchus forest. Glorious day, although a stiff breeze has got going now.

Tell me about it!

What an absolutely beautiful evening, still 24c 75f in places at 19.15!..looking at the Gfs 12z there's plenty more summer like weather to come during mid to late May with lots of high pressure around!

I think that the key to getting some memorable early summer weather is a link up of the high pressure systems over the Azores and Scandi and it looks like this is happening with this frankfurter type feature on the GEM at T192: Roll on to T240:

Hottest early May bank holiday on record Hottest early May bank holiday weekend on record A simply stunning weekend to be remembered for the right reasons for once

My first day of duty as a member of the volunteer team of 6 who now run Hastings Borough Councils official weather observations, reporting to the Met Office ( on the WOW website ** ), the local press ( Hastings Observer) and the general public ( Kiosk on the seafront ). I couldn't have picked a better day to start my week long shift. Wall to wall sunshine and currently around 24c here. The town is absolutely heaving. Jack in the Green fesitivities in full swing and over 10,000 bikers here for the 1066 May Day Bike Run. ** My first ever report here: http://wow.metoffice...ite_id=26991458

Extremely noteworthy..

NetWx-sr hi rez going for 28c today as SS says records could very well be broken.

Don't go out in it, problem solved!

Yes, we certainly are all different, but your strong reaction to moderate warmth may indicate underlying issues. Might be worth getting a check up? Don’t mean to offend.

I think some are over-exaggerating how bad things are. 22-26C across most of the UK with unbroken sunshine and low humidity. That really shouldn't be that intollerable to be honest. It is just pleasant for very clothing and is exactly what we needed from agriculture to tourism. Looks like lasting until Tuesday before it looks like we will see low presure move towards the UK to bring cooler and more unsettled weather. Week 2 looks messy with low pressure filling near the UK and high pressure building to our east and from the Azores high moving in so proably some kind of easterly is likely to develop but surface details will be very difficult to pin down (It could be dry or wet and potentially cool or very warm).

12z GEM shows an improving picture through next weekend and into the following week as high pressure makes a quick return Becoming warmer again as well

Moved back to my own house today after my holiday and my mum's death feels strange to be home again but what a lovely afternoon nice wee sneaky beer back door open perfect

With data for April coming through it's a good time to look at SSTs as certain patterns (such as ENSO) can persist for the next couple of months, potentially giving an indicator of medium to long range variability too in some areas also. We are currently in a La Nina, though April 2018 is likely to be in the top 5 warmest globally. Despite this quite a large area of North America had its coldest April on record but this was more than offset elsewhere (left). The cold over the US often poured out into the Atlantic so SSTs anomalies changed a fair bit as a result. Record warmth was seen at times in the Southern US, central Europe, Argentina, Australia and the Arctic circle. In the UK it was a warm April thanks to the mid-month heatwave though there were some big swings in temperature. The US saw a pattern driven by the La Nina no doubt, whereas the UK / Europe was probably influenced by the cold pooling in the North Atlantic Which of these features is relevant to the UK? So far this May the cold blob in the North Atlantic appears to be making a return (right). Such a pattern could mean a very hot summer for central and southern Europe if it were to persist. In the UK i wouldn't want to make a call but I will say that westerlies are more likely then usual over the next few month if it carries on, with above average rainfall in the North and West more likely. La Nina looks like as though it may persist. I can't think of many recent analogues. 2009 and 2015 had similar SST patterns in the North Atlantic but El Nino's were developing at that time. Other notable things are a cool tropical North Atlantic which means the Atlantic hurricane season may be a quiet one. Though any warm up could change that markedly with the La Nina still in place. Active hurricane seasons can trigger changes in patterns if tropical storms get caught up in the jet, so its something to bear in mind. The arctic looks like getting some extreme warmth for the time of year. After a lucky couple of Summers, arctic sea ice is at risk of setting new record lows. This may also be worth keeping an eye on. In the UK this week? Looks like the warm weather will last till Wednesday before the Atlantic takes charge for the rest of the week, driven by cold pooling from Greenland evident in the right panel of the first plot. Some hints it may settle down again come next Sunday. If the Atlantic is shunted north, we should tap into some very warm air very quickly. Its shaping up to be a very warm May across central Europe.

Pushmepullyou

Just like the coldest or warmest Christmas is all down to good timing. Doesn't mean people can't get excited by it. It's been a miserable long winter - can't you just let Summer Sun have enjoy this?

Yeah, they are, especially the way they walk up towards you! Thought it was worth posting it here due to them looking similar to the pic you posted (minus the face pulling )

The MJO phase 1-2 response of height rises N Atlantic to Scandinavia is strongly reflected in the way that all the models keep heading toward that sort of pattern for next week onward. Much still to be resolved, though, when it comes to the Arctic pattern and how much this allows or denies the ridging access; if it opens warms wide there’s a risk that fine weather becomes limited to northwestern UK or even north of there in the most extreme cases (i.e. we all lose out and the Faroe Islands steal the good stuff). On the other hand, there’s been a fair few occasions in recent months when Arctic height rises have been overblown by the models at more than 5 days range. In this scenario it could be northern residents finding themselves uncomfortably close to a trough. Or, just maybe, the large scale of the height rises (thanks to the MJO assist) allows for the whole UK to experience an extended spell of fine weather (5+ days). It can and does happen!

Though not from the South East, happened to take a pic of this today while on a May Day walk:

The 1800 geostationary showing the systems to the west that are slowly going to become more influential and the continuing sea fog along western coasts.

I could introduce you to a nice local goat I know, here's a pic, let me know if your interested?

I'm physiologically adapted to withstand extreme cold, check out my avatar photo, however I much, much prefer the heat. We don't get much heat in this country, especially in recent years. We've just endured a miserable five-month winter. Isn't it time for some us to enjoy some heat?

A wonderfully warm and sunny day today in South Ockendon. I was at the May day local community celebrations on the green outside the library where there was maypole dancing which I took part in. The top temperature today was 25 °C .

Currently 28.4 C in my back garden at Watford - wall to wall blue sky with a strange yellow thing in the sky - just wonder what the weather gods will bring for the summer - maybe if we are lucky we may just about reach 35 C if we keep getting these highs bringing in south easterlies. Any bets? Whilst at Capestang in Southern France it is 22 C with a yellow warning for thunderstorms and floods.

Since April 19th we've had Hottest April day for 70 years Hottest London marathon on record Hottest early May bank holiday on record Hottest early May bank holiday weekend on record

Why is it not possible for a few on here to actually get the quote correct? As it is the moan thread, I'll have one, and quote the 6-15 final sentence is Temperatures initially below normal, but will recover to around normal. And their longer range out to 5 June says Temperatures overall will probably be slightly above normal, with the potential for some very warm spells in the south. Gawd folks it is not difficult!

HOTTEST EARLY MAY BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND EVER NOW 28.7c REACHED AT NORTHOLT

...and Norfolk UK.

Has anyone else noticed that this is more like the days when I was much younger. What I am telling everyone, gin clear skies, cool early and late with easterly sea breeze. 20c on coasts much hotter inland. Lets hope for a more traditional summer than those crappy south westerly dominated humid summers over the last 10 years or so.

11.7 to the 6th 1.9 above the 61 to 90 average 1.1 above the 81 to 10 average ______________________________________ Current high this month 11.7 to the 6th

22 now.. 1.6c away from the record before 11am lol!

I would love this weather to stick around until late september, broken by good thunderstorms every few days then back to sun and warmth , then rinse and repeat , of course it wont , we are not a continental climate

GFS going for 26c today given its tendency to undercook highs we could be close to 29c in the London area 29.1 or higher will break the daily record which has stood since 1976

Hardly. We all feel and tolerate temperatures differently. Just like those who enjoy this muck would find 12c cold. All I know is I get headaches and start to feel sick if I'm out in it too long.

Warmest day of the year going by the garden thermometer at 21.5C for a short time in the mid afternoon. About a 50:50 mix of sun/cloud during the day with no precipitation. Pity about the strong SE breeze that was there until the evening as that definitely made things feel cooler than the recorded 21C. A mild evening again at 13C just now - the residents bats are out in force tonight with at least 4 flying around and bold they are too coming pretty close to you when you are outside admiring them.

Absolutely blissful to be sat outside drinking wine and watching the stars appear with it still 20c at nearly 21.30 .

Barely saw a wasp last year but the buggers are everywhere this year. And they're huge - I'm assuming they're queens at this time of year? I remember reading that cold winters lead to more queens surviving as they hibernate better. No idea if it's true but there certainly appears to be more about.

At last, after yesterday's no show by the sun.

I had the amber alert from Aurorawatch last night. This from Anglesey North Wales in the early hours...

Everywhere is more attractive in the sun maybe not Peckham.

Absolute beauty of a day! Airport showing 22c earlier. Wee shade lower here but feels really warm with no breeze! Kids got the padding pool out and I'm having a wee beer or 2. Great stuff!

Sunny Sheffield at 11.2C +2.3C above normal. Rainfall 8.1mm 14% of average.

11.0 to the 5th 1.2 above the 61 to 90 average 0.5 above the 81 to 10 average ______________________________________ Current high this month 11.0 to the 5th

Pot. Kettle. You've made this assertion about a poor summer some time ago on one of the other threads, and if that proves right, fair play to you. My comments on the 18z may have been on the bullish side, although they were caveated, but from the recent output I have to say I do see a good chance of summer starting well - and I am as entitled to my bet as anyone else. Let's see what happens.