After the record-breaking heat of summer 2026, signs of warmer weather returning may prompt the question: could the UK experience one final heatwave before autumn takes hold?
The latest outlook does support a spell of drier, sunnier and warmer weather next week, particularly across southern parts of the UK. Temperatures could climb into the mid to high-20s, with the potential to reach heatwave conditions should conditions align.
A remarkable summer for the UK
Any further warmth would follow one of the most exceptional summers in the UK’s observational record.
By 25 July, the UK had already recorded more days above 30°C than during the whole of summer 1976, when the temperature exceeded that level on 22 days. By the end of summer 2026, the total had reached 33 days. Temperatures also reached 35°C during May, June, July and August, the first time this has occurred.
The UK’s average summer temperature was 16.5°C, which was 1.9°C above the long-term average and surpassed the previous record set in 2025. England and Wales also recorded their warmest summers by mean temperature.
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The heat was accompanied by exceptionally dry conditions. England and Wales experienced their driest Julys on record, while southern England recorded its driest calendar month. During the summer, more than half of England and all of Wales entered drought conditions.
Against that backdrop, even a modest rise in temperature is likely to attract attention. However, the expected conditions next week should be viewed separately from the prolonged and exceptional heat of the summer.
Why is warmer weather returning?
The change begins with developments over the Atlantic. A deep area of low pressure is expected to form well to the west of the UK. Although this system is not forecast to move directly across the country, it is likely to drag warmer air up from the continent and sub-tropical Atlantic.
High pressure will then build across the UK alongside this warmer air during the latter part of the weekend and into next week. This would mean a transition to predominantly dry and bright conditions, with sunny spells becoming more widespread. Northwestern Scotland may remain more changeable and therefore less likely to share fully in the settled pattern.
How hot could it get?
After a few fading showers on Sunday and Monday, a ridge of high pressure is expected to build across the UK, paving the way for increasingly settled conditions into the middle of next week. Temperatures are forecast to climb steadily rather than surge dramatically, with warm sunshine helping values rise from day to day.
The highest temperatures are most likely across southern parts of the UK, where current forecasts suggest highs could reach the upper 20s by the end of next week. While confidence is lower further north, much of the country is likely to see a spell of warmer-than-average weather as high pressure remains in control.
These temperatures would be notably warm for late September and could offer a final taste of summer before autumn becomes more firmly established.
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Warm spell or heatwave?
The clearest signal in the forecast is for warmer, drier and more settled weather to develop through next week as high pressure becomes the dominant feature across the UK. Following the arrival of calmer conditions on Monday, temperatures are expected to build gradually, with the warmest weather likely towards the end of the week.
However, it remains to be seen whether official heatwave thresholds will be met, as these vary across the UK and depend on both the temperatures reached and how long they persist.
Nevertheless, with high pressure expected to remain influential and temperatures continuing to climb, the prospect of one final heatwave before the end of the month is certainly not out of the question.
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