UK hot weather map shows 22C Iberian heat blast to hit in days - see your area

The UK could soon experience temperatures of up to 22C as an Iberian heat bomb looks set to sweep across the country within days, according to the latest weather maps. WX Charts maps valid for Sunday, April 6, indicate that warm air from the south is set to push northwards, bringing summer-like heat to large swathes of Britain. The weather maps show a band of warmth travelling from Spain and France, with temperatures in parts of northern France possibly reaching 24C before the heat spreads into southern England.

The warmest conditions are expected across London, Kent, Essex and East Anglia, where temperatures could climb to 22C. Elsewhere, highs of 18C to 21C are possible across the Midlands, southern Wales and the South West, while parts of northern England and the Welsh borders could see the mercury reach 16C to 18C. Cooler conditions will persist further north, with temperatures in Scotland and Northern Ireland mostly ranging between 10C and 14C, according to the charts.

The WX Charts maps also suggest that the warm air mass will cover almost all of the UK by late Sunday, pushing north from Iberia in a plume-like fashion - a pattern known as a Spanish plume.

According to the Met Office, a Spanish plume is a weather setup that sees very warm air rise northwards from the Iberian Peninsula, often triggering thunderstorms as it interacts with cooler air from the west.

While this setup is often linked with summer storms, in early spring it can result in a sharp temperature spike without necessarily causing widespread rain.

The forecaster explains: “The very warm air moving northwards from Spain towards the UK will rise as hot air is less dense than cold air. As this unstable air rises it cools leading to the formation of clouds, in this case cumulonimbus or thunder clouds.

"As cooler air spreads from the west instability increases and the very warm air rises through the cooler air, enhancing the formation of thunderstorms."

However, the Met Office’s long-range forecast for the same period currently expects things to stay mostly settled.

Between March 31 and April 9, most parts of the UK are predicted to be “dry with clear or sunny spells and light winds”, with temperatures “around or above normal and feeling warm during the day.”

The forecast does warn that some unsettled spells could develop, particularly in the south and west, but the main signal remains for fine weather, especially inland where the day-on-day warming will be most noticeable.