Express & Star

West Midlands basking in sunshine on hottest day of the year

The West Midlands was basking in sunshine with the hottest day of the year so far forecast across the UK.

Published

With lockdown measures eased there were more people out in parks sunbathing enjoying the sunshine.

Temperatures were set to peak at around 26C (79F) today - even hotter than yesterday's year high across the country.

Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: “There will be a bit of a grey, misty start for some first thing but that will quickly burn away.

“The vast majority of the UK will have a dry day with sunny spells, if not blue skies all day for some.”

WATCH the forecast here:

The temperature is expected to rise even higher on Wednesday after the UK enjoyed the hottest day of the year so far.

London’s St James’s Park saw a high of 26.2C (79.16F) on Tuesday – beating 2020’s previous top temperature of 26C (78.8F) set last month.

The sunshine is set to continue for most of the UK on Wednesday, with temperatures expected to hit 28C (82.4F).

A woman sunbathes on a deck chair
A woman sunbathes on a deck chair in Greenwich Park, London (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

There is a risk of thunderstorms on Thursday in east and south-east England as a band of rain pushes eastwards.

Sunshine out in West Park, inn Wolverhampton

Temperatures are predicted to cool from 24C (75.2F) or 25C (77F) before the rain to a fresher 17C (62.6F) to 21C (69.8F) on Friday.

Mr Dewhurst predicted a windy start to the weekend with sunshine and showers for many with the weather gradually turning drier from the south on Sunday and into bank holiday Monday.