UK weather: Temperatures surge to mid 20s - are we experiencing a Spanish plume?

The UK is currently experiencing a period of warm weather.

The Met Office has issued yellow thunderstorm warnings for Northern Ireland, Wales, South West England, parts of the West Midlands for June 12.

On June 13, some places could see temperatures of 27°C.

The Met Office has issued yellow thunderstorm warnings for Northern Ireland, Wales, South West England, parts of the West Midlands for June 12.

A yellow thunderstorm warning has also been issued for the East of England and London and South East England for the mid to late afternoon of June 13 to the early morning of June 14.

What is a Spanish plume?

According to the Met Office, a Spanish plume is “a weather setup which brings an increased risk of thunderstorms within an air mass which travels north from Iberia.”

What causes a Spanish plume?

A Spanish plume is caused by:

• Very warm air pushing north from the Spanish plateau on a southerly airflow. This can happen at almost any time of year but during the summer months the extra warmth and moisture lead to increased energy available for storm development

• Cooler air at height advancing from the west associated with upper troughs or cold fronts

• Strong summer sunshine heating air at and near the surface across France and the UK

Are we experiencing a Spanish plume?

In the Met Office’s ‘Deep Dive’ forecast, meteorologist Alex Deakin said: “The air is coming from Spain, but it originates a little further south. It actually originates across northern Africa, so you could argue it's not a true Spanish plume but it is being affected by the mountains of central and northern Spain.

Saharan dust in atmosphere

“They're [thundery showers] likely to have picked up some Saharan dust, so when it does rain don't be surprised if your car is a little dirtier in the mornings. It may well be that you wake up and there's little brown splodges all over your car from the overnight thunderstorms. When there's more dust particles in the atmosphere, it increases the likelihood of lightning.

“The one on Friday is more generated by this cold front coming northwards rather than thunderstorms coming in so again probably not a classic Spanish plume in that sense with these fronts coming northwards and generating their own rainfall rather than just that destabilisation of the hot air from the south. They're never quite the textbook classics but two examples of almost Spanish plumes coming through the rest of this week.”

Met Office UK 5 day weather forecast

June 11 day

Morning cloud across the south will generally dissipate to leave a largely dry and sunny day for many. The far northwest of Scotland though will be cloudy with some rain for a time. Widely very warm.

June 11 night

Showers will begin to affect the west this evening, with a more organised band of thundery rain following overnight. Remaining dry elsewhere, and a warm night for many.

June 12

Rain, heavy at times, will continue to move north and east throughout the day. Brighter conditions following but with some showers also developing. Warm and increasingly humid, despite the breeze.

June 13 to June 15

Staying warm and humid on Friday with another spell of heavy and thundery rain developing, especially later. Staying changeable over the weekend with some further rain but feeling fresher.

Have you got a video you want to share with our readers? You can now send it to us online via YourWorld at https://www.yourworld.net/submit/ It's free to use and, once checked, your footage will appear on our website.