Summer arrives with a heatwave!

Get ready for a three-day scorcher

summer heatwave 2016

by Cate Sutherland |
Published on

After such a disappointing start to the season, many of us were caught by surprise this weekend when summer finally arrived.

The mercury reached 26C and 27C in London where every inch of green space was taken up by sizzling sunbathers and barbeques.

summer heatwave 2016

It was a wet and windy start to the summer thanks to the jet stream sitting right above the UK.

According to The Met Office, this June was the 11th wettest since records began in 1910 with a woeful 138 hours of sunshine.

But it’s set to reach 34C tomorrow as the heatwave continues, with most of the UK sweltering in high 20Cs or low 30Cs.

Temperatures will be hotter than Hawaii, Los Angeles, Morocco and Greece.

So don’t despair if you haven’t booked a summer holiday – warm air from north Africa is bringing beach weather to you.

summer heatwave 2016

Commuters are being advised to expect delays, carry a bottle of water whilst travelling and to seek medical advice if they are feeling unwell.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: "On warm days, rails in direct sunshine can be as much as 20 degrees centigrade above air temperature.

"As rails are made out of steel, they expand as they heat up and are subject to strong compression.

"If the track does buckle, the line must be closed and the track repaired before services can resume, causing considerable disruption."

summer heatwave 2016

It’s also time to stock up on sunscreen and book in that pedicure if you’ve been caught off guard by the fast and furious turnaround.

As we expected to shelter from relentless showers, sales of knitted jumpers soared by 150 per cent year-on-year according to discount retailer tofs (The Original Factory Shop).

But new summer fleeces and jerseys won’t go to waste as showers return towards the end of the week.

Naturally.

**What have you got planned with these three glorious days of sunshine? Let us know your plans over on Twitter (@CloserOnline) and Facebook. **

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