A couple of factors are responsible for opening the door to some fine conditions for the first week of meteorological autumn - the week many of the schools go back. Firstly, the jet stream – which has been delivering largely unsettled spells of weather to the UK – is continuing to shift north, allowing higher pressure to build widely across the UK during the weekend and into next week. Secondly, the influence of former tropical cyclone Franklin is continuing to move into the north Atlantic, amplifying the build-up of high pressure. 

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Chris Bulmer, said: “As high pressure becomes established from this weekend, fine and settled conditions will develop and along with this we will see a rise in temperature across most parts of the UK next week. Many places can expect to see maximum temperatures rise to 25°C or above for several days, which would bring some locations into the realm of heatwave conditions. 

“Although the highest temperatures are likely to be in the south and east of England, these areas also have higher temperature thresholds for heatwave conditions to be declared.  

"So, while some areas may just miss out on the actual definition, regardless of thresholds, many areas will enjoy a fine period of weather with plenty of sunshine and temperatures are likely to be the highest for many since June or early July.” 

Most assessments of this fine spell suggest that it will continue during the week. During next weekend there is then an increased chance of a breakdown in the settled conditions. However, as should be expected for this lead time, the timing of a breakdown is somewhat uncertain.  

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