Is this going to be the coldest June on record? Brits left worried over summer forecast
10 June 2024, 13:36 | Updated: 10 June 2024, 13:41
June weather forecasts are more cold and rainy than hot and heatwaves this summer 2024.
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Summer 2024 isn't off to the best start despite May being one of the hottest on records according to weather experts.
With June marking the official start date of the warmer months, so far all the UK has seen is wind, rain and temperatures of 16C - despite countless promises of heatwaves on the horizon.
So are we about to have the coldest June on record? Or is this normal weather behaviour for this time of year? Well, meteorologists don't seem to be as worried about the weather patterns just yet.
Here's why June feels so cold at the moment, what the average temperatures should be this month and the outlook for a heatwave.
Is this going to be the coldest June on record?
We haven't seen much in terms of the sun and BBQ weather so far this month but according to weather experts, this is "perfectly normal".
Talking to iNews, meteorologist Dr Robert Thompson explained that because of global warming, we expect higher temperatures than what are actually average.
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“The last few months have all been warmer than average. We’ve had a reasonably warm spring compared to what we expect, so we’re kind of expecting that to continue, and it hasn’t done,” Dr Thompson said.
Agreeing the beginning of June has felt colder, other forecasters have suggested that while these temperatures are normal for this time of year, a high jet stream is making it feel chillier.
Dr Thompson added: "The jet stream for the last few days really has been coming from quite far north and then down over the UK.
“In the summer it tends to be a bit further north and a bit further south in the winter."
The Met Office forecast also adds that temperatures in the coming week "feel cool for this time of year".
What was the hottest June on record?
Surprisingly, despite many of us complaining about summer 2023, June of that year was the hottest on record.
Met Office figures said "the average mean temperature of 15.8°C for June 2023 in the UK is the highest in a series since 1884".
Is there going to be a June heatwave?
Despite original forecasts, the chances of a heatwave this month are slowly dwindling.
The Met Office so far show temperatures of highs of 18C for the next week mixed with cloud, rain and short sunny spells.
They have also said: "Next week, confidence for any dominant weather regimes is considered very low.
"There are tentative signs of building high pressure from the west at times, but showers or longer spells of rain are also likely to affect the country, with the eastern half of England and Scotland on balance most likely to experience wetter, or at last more showery weather."
Looking towards the end of the month and into July they say the "outlook remains uncertain".
"All areas can expected to see some spells of drier, sunnier weather, but there will also be showers or longer spells of rain at times. Temperatures are most likely to be close to, or above, climatological average," they added.
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