BRITAIN is heading for a three-week Indian summer, forecasters have predicted.
The balmy weather is expected to last until the second half of October with temperatures akin to the height of summer.
However, it’s not all good news, as experts say the UK will eventually be hit with one of the coldest winters on record, due to the El Nino effect.
British Weather Services forecasted a “fabulous Indian summer” with sunny days and rising temperatures towards the end of the month.
The Met Office said showers tomorrow and Tuesday would be followed by sunshine on Wednesday before next weekend starts the spell of prolonged sunshine.
People in northern England are already enjoying weekend sunny spells of 62F (17C).
Highs nudging 68F (20C) are expected north of the Border this weekend 41F (5C) above average.
The Met Office said only “occasional bouts of wind and rain” would interrupt dry skies and sunshine.
Meteorologist Jim Dale said: “Just when you thought summer was all over, an Indian summer is incoming.
“For 10 days and likely more, virtually all parts of the UK can expect an extended run of fine, dry, sunny and warmer-than-average weather.
“Temperatures are set to rise towards the end of the month.
“There should be some fabulous days to come.”
Hikers enjoyed the red and gold autumnal hues in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
In Northumberland, children took advantage of the warm weather to go hunting for crabs and sea urchins on the beach below Lindisfarne Castle, while boats took to the water at Windermere.
Autumn warmth will make up for the UK’s summer which was colder than every one bar three since the 1980s, and the coldest for four years.
Forecaster Alex Burkill said high pressure was set to dominate the UK from the weekend to the second half of October, with prolonged sunny periods.
“There will be nice, sunny spells ahead, for sure,” he said.
But experts fear the autumn warmth will soon be followed by one of the coldest winters in 50 years.
Arctic temperatures and heavy snowfalls could be on par with the devastating winter of 1962-63 which saw rivers and lakes freeze across Britain.
Met Office scientists said conditions could mirror the long 2009-10 winter when heavy snow caused transport chaos across the country.
It comes as forecasters warned a powerful El Nino weather system is set to wreak havoc.
The phenomenon is combined with cooling in the Atlantic which threatens to trigger a nationwide white-out.
It occurs when ocean temperatures rise in the eastern Pacific due to a change in the normal wind direction, causing a knock-on effect around the globe.
This year’s could be the strongest since 1950 when Britain suffered one of the worst winters on record.
In that year snow lay in the Highlands for 102 days.
James Madden, of Exacta Weather, said there would be a much colder than average November.
“Even parts of the south could see some snow before we enter December this year,” he said.
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