A third heatwave could hit parts of the UK by mid-July, the Met Office has said.
The second weekend of July could see increasing heat and humidity, and potentially the third heatwave within four weeks after two weekends of hot conditions for much of the country in the final weeks of June, which was the hottest on record across England.
“Whilst it is difficult this far ahead to determine exactly how hot things could get next week and weekend, there is the potential that some parts of the country could reach heatwave criteria,” Met Office meteorologist Zoe Hutin said.
A location has to hit or exceed 25C in the west and north and 28C in London and surrounding counties for three consecutive days to qualify as a heatwave.
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On 9 July, temperatures are expected to reach the high 20s in the south east and potentially the low 30s on 10 July, Ms Hutin said.
The hot conditions would likely continue into the weekend due to an area of high pressure building from the west before stretching across the south and drawing in warm air from the Atlantic and Azores.
“Most likely it will be the south and east that see prolonged heat and thus could have another heatwave, but it is too soon to say exactly how high temperatures could get,” she added.
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The meteorologist said temperatures this weekend and the start of next week will be lower than recent days, with “cloudier skies prevailing and bringing spells of rain at times, especially for western areas”.
Temperatures are forecast to reach 25C in the south east on Saturday, 24C on Sunday and 23C on Monday.
“It will be drier overall in the east, though some drizzly outbreaks are still possible on Saturday, with showers on Sunday,” Ms Hutin said.
A yellow weather warning for rain issued by the Met Office is in place across parts of Argyll and Bute, in Scotland, the south Highlands, Mull and Skye until Saturday afternoon.
These regions could see up to 60mm of rain and more than 100mm in mountain areas.
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The Environment Agency has issued flood alerts in Cumbria for the rivers Duddon, Crake and Mill Beck, and other watercourses following heavy rain on Friday.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency also issued six flood alerts in Argyll and Bute, Ayrshire and Arran, Easter Ross and Great Glen, Skye and Lochaber, west central Scotland and Wester Ross.
