Met Office declares heatwave in Gloucestershire and issues thunderstorm pre-warning

It’s hot in Gloucestershire and that’s official. The Met Office has crunched the numbers and said that parts of the county have hit the heatwave criteria.

A temperature map of the UK shows parts of northern Gloucestershire had three days above the threshold temperature of 27C. The mercury has soared past 28C at times this week.

The map shows the hottest parts of the county were from Gloucester to the northern border with Worcestershire and Herefordshire. Met Office forecasts show the temperatures in the county are set to drop back over the coming days, with the potential for more thunderstorms.

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In a tweet, the Met Office said: “The hot weather continues to affect many areas of the UK. Based on maximum temperatures recorded up to and including yesterday, the places shown in the map below have met the criteria.”

Even though the weather will be ‘cooling’ off a bit, daytime highs will still be in the low 20s in Gloucestershire into the middle of next next week. And there is a sting in the tail.

The Met Office added: “Daytime temperatures will be falling slightly over the coming days as we see increasing amounts of cloud and heavy, thundery showers developing. But night-time temperatures will be on the rise, making for increasingly uncomfortable sleeping into next week.”

The Met Office defines a heatwave as: “an extended period of hot weather relative to the expected conditions of the area at that time of year, which may be accompanied by high humidity”. That threshold temperature in the Gloucestershire area is 27C.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Steven Keates said: “Over the coming days we’ll be transitioning to a more unsettled regime for the UK, though temperatures will remain high and it’ll feel very humid for many. Heavy showers and thunderstorms are likely to become more frequent through the weekend, with the potential for associated hail, lightning and some gusty winds.

“While the focus of thundery showers on Friday afternoon will be Northern Ireland, that risk spreads more widely across western and southern areas of the UK on Saturday, before pushing further north on Sunday. As in many of these situations, these showers can be hit or miss, with some places avoiding them whilst other areas nearby may see some very wet conditions.”

“There’s an ongoing likelihood of warnings being issued in the coming days, so keep an eye on the weather forecast for the latest outlook.” A record-high temperature for the UK of 40.3ºC was recorded at Coningsby in Lincolnshire on July 19, 2022.

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