Britain set for ‘epic’ autumn heatwave after bank holiday washout

When will it end

I for one have had enough of these “heatwaves” – making sleep impossible, burning me on a stroll to the shops – and gratefully accepted yesterday’s downpour.

Yet it seems summer refuses to relinquish the planet from its smouldering grip. Britain could see an autumnal heatwave once the cold and wet weekend is out of the way, thanks to a swoon of cold air from Iceland.

Saturday night could see freezing lows, the Met Office warned.

Meteorologist Becky Mitchell said: “Through the end of this week we will be drawing in much cooler air from around Iceland which will be Arctic in origin.

“It will become chilly on Saturday night and we expect grass frosts and air frosts across the countryside in parts of the UK, we could see the first air frost since before summer.

“Overnight temperatures could dip to freezing on Saturday night and it will be a chilly start on Sunday for many.”

But temperatures will increase next week, with the potential of touching a heatwave in September.

James Madden, Exacta Weather forecaster, predicted autumn temperatures as high as 30C. He said: “There are now some absolutely epic and consistent heatwave projections coming out for the start of autumn.

“There is every chance that Britain could be drenched in prolonged periods of sunshine and very high temperatures.

“It is now with high confidence that we can say that the warmth from the summer will extend into much of September and the start of autumn, so an Indian summer is almost as certain.

“We would not be surprised to see temperatures climbing well into the 30’s at times during September.”