A HEATWAVE could be on the cards next week with temperatures set to reach the high 20s or maybe even 30C in Dorset.

A plume of very warm air moving in from the south is set to bring hottest temperatures of the year so far.

Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be the warmest days of the week.

Weather enthusiast Dorset Sun said: “We are expecting highs in the low 20s during Monday and Tuesday, but by midweek temperatures will rocket into the high 20s, so 26 to 28c is expected countywide with the outside chance of 30C being met.

“A heatwave in Dorset is officially classified as three or more days where the heatwave threshold (of 26C) is met or exceeded. There is a chance of the heatwave threshold being met next week, although there are still doubts over the longevity of this warm air."

He added that some weather models showed the warm air clinging on and perhaps rebuilding into the weekend but this could not yet be confirmed.

Bournemouth & Poole Weather said that we will start to see a warming trend through Monday and Tuesday with temperatures in the low 20s.

He added: "Though Wednesday and Thursday warmer still with 26 to 28C likely here in Bournemouth. Further inland 30C quite likely with a few places a touch higher.

"Friday things get complicated, probably very warm again, maybe 27 to 29C here but at this range that could all change. By next weekend currently it looks like we’ll be back into the low 20s and it’ll be much cooler, again at this range it’s very uncertain whether the heat will depart with a flash and a bang or just a gentle reduction in temperature so those finer details will need to be firmed up on in the coming few days."

Last month was the sunniest calendar month on record in the UK.

The Met Office said 626 hours of bright sunshine were recorded in Spring 2020 for the UK and exceeded the previous high of 555 hours set in 1948.