Northamptonshire gets set to sizzle as temperatures head towards 30°C next week

Weather watchers are forecasting a heatwave to hit Northampton next week.

Temperatures are tipped to slowly rise over the weekend with a possibility of the mercury hitting 30°C by Wednesday — a full TEN DEGREES hotter than today.

Local meteorologists at Northamptonshire Weather, who supply information for the Chronicle & Echo live weather blog, said: "If you like it hot there’s a burst of heat coming to the county next week.

"It looks like around 21°C on Sunday but some models are showing a good chance of temperatures rising to 30°C by Wednesday."

And Met Office deputy chief meteorologist, Martin Young, said: “By the middle of next week we’ll see temperatures across much of England and Wales widely climbing into the mid to high twenties and it will probably be hot in parts of southern and eastern England, as temperatures peak close to 30°C as hot air from the continent extends across the UK."

But he also warned: “We’re keeping a close eye on the possibility of severe thunderstorms developing later next week, too, triggered by the warm continental air.”

Northamptonshire may not seen the last of the current unsettled spell, though, after heavy rain and spectacular storms struck across the county.

More rain looks set to fall over the weekend and Sunday morning could be washout.

Met Office forecaster Alex Deakin said: "There's another zone of cloud and rain pushing into Northern Ireland with winds picking up on Saturday evening.

"These weather fronts are tied into a low pressure area with isobars squidging together and moving across the country with Eastern areas having a soggy Sunday morning."

"It will also feel a bit fresher over the weekend after the recent humidity.

"But it could warm up next week as an area of higher pressure starts to move in from the continent — and that often means drier and sunnier weather at this time of year.

"It depends on the exact position of high and its exact shape and position, and the way winds are blowing, that could allow some really quite warm air to waft up although obviously there's still some uncertainty about that at this stage."

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