Daniel Wolfram
After a week of heavy rain, storms and floods, the rest of October in the UK will likely be extraordinarily warm.
Yesterday, I wrote about how this week will be very windy and rainy with warnings of flooding across the UK.
Today, I come bearing news from the other end of the weather spectrum. Even though the summer is officially over as the calendar has turned to autumn, the start of October could be just like summer.
The Indian summer seems to descend like a thick blanket all over the UK.
Summer returns in October
By Tuesday, October 6, up to 21 counties across the country could see temperatures climbing past 23°C. East and Southeast England stand out as the primary areas where the temperatures could hit up to 25°C.
That marks a massive departure from this week’s autumn weather. Standard October days in southern England rarely top 17°C, making this sudden spike a rare treat for sun-seekers.
The Met Office described last week’s weather as “exceptionally warm for late September” after Kew Gardens in southwest London recorded 22.8°C on Saturday.
21 counties set to reach 23°C or higher
According to reporting by the Mirror, counties like Essex, Norfolk, Worcestershire, Hertfordshire, and Leicestershire are likely to see temperatures hovering between 23°C and 24°C.
Northern cities will also get a taste of the Indian summer. Manchester and surrounding urban centres can expect afternoon highs around 20°C, while large parts of Scotland should enjoy figures in the mid-to-high teens.
In its long-range forecast, the Met Office described how the weather pattern is coming together: “The speed at which high pressure builds, and whether it will be focussed across the north or south, remains finely balanced. This will lead to a drier than average period overall, with lighter winds than average… Temperatures are likely to remain warmer than average.”
El Niño is the reason for the wetter and warmer autumn
As reported extensively here on Dagens.com, the weather phenomenon El Niño is the cause of this changeable and wild weather.
The “super” El Niño is the strongest in this century and is the reason for the hottest recorded summer in UK history, according to the Met Office, with 40 days of temperatures above 30°C.
Likewise, according to the BBC, this prolonged heatwave in the UK in the summer months has resulted in “marine heatwaves,” where sea surfaces are 5°C hotter than normally recorded.
