Incoming hot could qualify as a heatwave, with temperatures of up to 33C predicted. WXCharts, which uses Met Desk data, forecast that on June 16 the areas of the country (Peterborough, Norwich, Ipswich, Milton Keynes) will reach 33C at the end of this week (June 22).

According to the Met Office, a is an extended period of hot weather that exceeds the expected temperature of the area at that time of year, which may be accompanied by high humidity. A UK heatwave threshold is met when a location goes at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold.

The threshold varies by UK county, being 28C from Cambridgeshire to Surrey; 27C between Lincolnshire, Kent, Hampshire, and the West Midlands; 26C between East Riding, Cheshire, to Dorset; and 25C for the north and southwest of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

From Friday (June 20) to Sunday (June 22), the UK is forecast to see highs of 33C, mostly centred over the southeast of England and East Anglia. If this occurs, it will qualify as a heatwave.

Heatwaves are extreme weather events, but research shows that climate change is making these events more likely. A into the 2018 summer heatwave by the Met Office showed that the likelihood of the UK experiencing a summer as hot or hotter than 2018 is a little over one in 10.

Tonight:

Wet and windy weather will move southeast across Scotland and Northern Ireland overnight. Rain will ease as it reaches northwest England and northwest Wales later. Fine with clear spells elsewhere.

Tuesday:

Patchy rain will affect northern England and the north and west of Wales. Dry further southeast with some very warm sunshine. Breezy with bright spells and showers to the north.

Outlook for Wednesday to Friday:

Most places look dry with increasingly warm or hot sunshine. However, patchy rain is likely in the north on Wednesday, with a few showers in the west and northwest thereafter.