BRITAIN HOTS UP FOR A LATE SUMMER

A boy from Southampton enjoys a moment of sunshine on Bournemouth beach

Thursday August 28,2008

By Martyn Brown

UNPACK your summer clothes and head for the beach because, after this week’s dismal bank holiday, Britain is set for a scorching weekend.

Temperatures are expected to soar into the 80s, forecasters said yesterday.

Most of the country will be warm and dry over the coming days and, for once, the best of the weather will wait until the working week is over.

Met Office spokesman John Hammond said Saturday would be “perfect barbecue weather” as the mercury hits a sweltering 27C (81F). “It’s going to get steadily warmer as the week draws to a close,” he said.

“On Friday, temperatures in the south of the country will reach 25C (77F) while it will be 23C (73F) or 24C (75F) in northern parts.

“On Saturday we could see temperatures reaching 27C, especially in the London area. If anyone is planning to have one last barbecue this summer then Saturday is definitely the day to do it.”

However, he warned rain would soon be on its way.

“Sadly the really good weather will be over before we know it and there will be showers, particularly in northern Britain, on Sunday.”

News of a glorious end to the month comes as a timely boost following a dismal August.

Britain’s most northerly town was one of the sunniest places in the UK this month. While the rest of the country shivered, Lerwick, in the Shetland Islands, basked in glorious weather, with 136 hours of sunshine in the first 25 days of August.

Forecaster John Hutchinson of MeteoGroup said Shetland had been lucky to escape the bad weather which has hit the rest of the UK.

“Shetland really has been fizzing above the gloom and rain that has been affecting everywhere else,” he said.

However, the title of Britain’s sunniest location in August went to Shanklin on the Isle of Wight which saw 164.3 hours of sunshine in the first 25 days of August.

Much of the rest of the country failed to reach a miserable 100 hours of sun.

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