Bank Holiday Monday was forecast to be the warmest day of the long weekend, a weather expert revealed, with London, in particular, reaching a staggering 35C - which would break a May record07:09, 23 May 2026A 35C heatwave was forecast to leave the UK sweltering this bank holiday, as thousands of Brits head to beaches for a weekend dubbed "May's fiery flip-flop".‌After days of deep freeze, the UK could see a record-breaking heatwave for the late May bank holiday, a weather expert has told the Mirror. Some parts of the country could be 2C or 3C warmer than the previous record for May on Monday.‌The heat blast returns to the UK "with a vengeance", after the mercury dropped to near-freezing at the start of the week, according to British Weather Services' senior meteorologist Jim Dale. The sudden heatwave was sparked by an African plume coming just days after an Arctic polar front, he said.‌"We're probably overdue this heat in that respect," Mr Dale told the Mirror. "It's coming back with vengeance. It is going to heat up quite a lot, to say the least."READ MORE: 'Extreme' health risk warning for popular Brit holiday destinationREAD MORE: UK weather maps show when -1C freeze will end heatwave – just 5 counties at 10CBank Holiday Monday was forecast to be the warmest day of the long weekend, he added. London, in particular, could reach a staggering 35C; which would be nearly 3C warmer than the previous May record.‌But, several other counties could also be staring down a 35C on Monday, Mr Dale added, including Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Northamptonshire, and Lincolnshire.Further north, and there could still be record-breaking temperatures on local scales. The north-west of England and some parts of Scotland were forecast to see up to 29C.‌"32.8C is the record we've got to beat," said Mr Dale. "For this time of year, that's staggering temperature. There are some models that are actually showing a lot more than that, 34C, 35C."If it reaches that, that's just silly heights at this time of year. That's got climate change written all over it. We'll see as we get closer to whether those sort of silly temperatures will come, breaking the record and beyond come to be."‌Saturday was forecast to be very similar to Friday, albeit with odd thundery showers. It could reach between 24C and 25C for some regions, before another slight increase the following day.The mercury could hit between 27C and 28C on Sunday, before another sudden jump on Bank Holiday Monday. Tuesday could also be extremely hot, dependent on wind direction and cloud cover, the meteorologist added.‌Meanwhile, the Met Office also said the peak of the heat would come on Monday. High pressure was expected across most of the UK, meaning cooler regions could see even more sunshine and heat.It said: "For many areas, this will feel more like mid-summer than late May, with temperatures rising well above average and the potential for some notably high values as the weekend progresses.‌"The bank holiday Monday is expected to bring the peak of the heat. Temperatures may reach around 33C across parts of southern and central England, with the potential to challenge or exceed existing late-May records."An amber heat health alert was issued for the East of England, meaning a risk of significant impact across health and social care services. Indoor temperatures could rise above the recommended threshold, including in hospitals.Article continues belowThe alert was put in place from 2pm on Friday until 5pm on Wednesday, according to the UK Health Security Agency.