The warmest late May Bank Holiday Weekend on record is officially 32.8 °C, recorded on Bank Holiday Monday itself on 29th May 1944 in Horsham (West Sussex), Tunbridge Wells  (Kent) and Regents Park (London) just a few days ahead of D-Day.

Martin Young, Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office said, “Although temperatures will rise into the mid to high 20s for southern and central parts of England and Wales, with a small chance of temperatures pushing 30 C, it looks unlikely that we will see the warmest temperature records broken.  However, there is a 50/50 chance we may see the warmest day of the year so far at some point towards the end of the weekend.” 

St. James Park, London currently holds the record for the warmest day of the year in 2018, with 29.1 °C recorded on 19th April.

There will be plenty of fine, warm and sunny weather over the weekend and although the best of the sunshine will be across Northern Ireland and Scotland, it’ll feel warmest across southern England and Wales, where temperatures here could rise into the high 20’s.  These high temperatures will also bring the risk of thunderstorms over the weekend.  Not everywhere will feel the heat however, with eastern parts feeling much cooler due to north easterly winds blowing in from the North Sea.

Although the UK record may not be broken, the sunny and warm conditions could see Northern Ireland come close to record Bank Holiday temperatures.  The current record for Northern Ireland is 25.2 °C, set in 1978 in Strabane.

Not everywhere will stay dry however, with the risk of scattered heavy and thundery showers in some places.  Chief Meteorologist Andy Page said, “There is a risk of potentially severe thunderstorms during the Bank Holiday weekend. These are most likely to affect the south and southwest of the country, however exact location details are uncertain at this stage.  Impacts from heavy downpours are possible, however are likely to be localised.  We are carefully monitoring the thunderstorm threat and recommend people keep updated with the forecast on the day if they have outdoor plans.”

With the warm weather forecast for the weekend, National Trust Curation and Experience Director, John Orna Ornstein, said: "This Bank Holiday weekend will be a great opportunity to get out and soak up some sunshine in the coastal sites, gardens and landscapes in our care."

Beyond the weekend high pressure and the easterly winds remain in charge into the half- term holidays, with many places seeing a continuation of the very warm, dry spell with the possibility of a thundery shower breaking out somewhere.

You can find out the current forecast in your area using our forecast pages and by following us on Twitter and Facebook, as well as using our mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store.