UK weather latest: Mini heatwave set for weekend – just don’t call it a ‘Spanish plume’

Britain is set to heat up this weekend thanks to a rush of warm air from Spain and north Africa – but, contrary to some reports, the upcoming warm weather can’t be called a ‘Spanish plume’.

A mini-heatwave will treat those staying in the UK for their summer holidays to balmy temperatures this weekend and early next week.

“A period of hot weather is on the cards,” Met Office meteorologist Emma Sharples told the Independent. “The warmest day looks to be Tuesday, when we’ll probably see temperatures in the low 30s.”

But Ms Sharples said while the warmth and hot air was on its way from the south, and Spain in particular, it was important not to confuse the warm spell with a Spanish plume, which is a distinct weather phenomenon.

“There’s a difference: you can get a plume of air, as in an area of air being pushed up from the south, which just so happens to come from Spain and north Africa,” she said.

“But a Spanish plume is a specific term to describe a series of events that does normally start with hot air and ends with thunderstorms. We get one or two a year, but this isn’t that.”

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The plume occurs when a large southwards dip in the high altitude jet stream develops to the west of Europe, pushing hot and humid air from Iberia into northern Europe and the British Isles.

Ewen McCallum, the Met Office's Chief Meteorologist, said: “‘Spanish Plume’ is actually a rather catchy name for a rather complex meteorological phenomenon which leads to warm conditions and heavy showers or thunderstorms over parts of the UK and north-west Europe."

"Spanish Plume to bake Britain for two weeks," announced a headline on the Daily Star's front page this morning – but anyone planning a 'staycation' next week should not leave their umbrellas at home, according to Ms Sharples.

On Wednesday, cooler and fresher conditions would return, with the possibility of thunderstorms, she said.

In this case, the warm air may help to fuel the storms and not necessarily create them, as is the case with changing air pressures caused by a real Spanish plume.

Post-Brexit exchange rates, fear over terror attacks and warmer weather than usual means 6 per cent fewer people are planning an overseas holiday this summer, according to a Morgan Stanley survey of British consumers.

But whether holidaymakers planning a bank-holiday getaway will enjoy higher temperatures than usual remains to be seen, said Ms Sharples.

“After the cooler conditions next week, the weather remains quite changeable: Sunny, with some showers at times. It doesn't look settled, but also not very wet - it’s typical British summer weather.”