UK Edition
August set to become hottest on record as forecasters say warm weather will continue
August is set to become the hottest on record as forecasters said the Bank Holiday warm weather will continue this week.
Bookmakers slashed the odds on the month breaking previous records following highs of 25C on Sunday.
Chris Page, a forecaster at the Met Office, said many places had seen “wall to wall sunshine” over the weekend, with the weather remaining “quite fine and settled”.
He added: "There will be some spells of light rain at times, mainly for the north and west of the country, however, it looks as though it will be dry with some spells of sunshine too and towards the south and east it will feel quite warm as well. Not a bad week at all in prospect."
The sunny conditions were welcomed by revellers at the Notting Hill Carnival.
However, a two-vehicle crash on the M5 led to the closure of the motorway in both directions near Weston-super-Mare and long tailbacks.
But those stuck in the traffic made the most of the good weather - sunbathing on the central reservation and playing football on the closed southbound carriageway.
Bank Holiday shoppers failed to make the tills ring, as footfall fell by 4.1% in comparison to last year.
The drop was coupled with an increase in footfall after 5pm on Saturday and Sunday, which Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said was due to a "growing demand for leisure activities".
"These results indicate the growth in trips focusing on experience rather than trips purely to buy products, and the growth of the hospitality sector," she said.
The good weather could be short lived, however, as Hurricane Gaston heads towards the UK - although its exact track is not yet known.
It could bring changeable conditions with wet and windy weather, especially in the north and west of the country.