'Spanish plume' to bring 30C heatwave to Britain?

The great summer slump is reportedly set to lift next - as forecaster suggest we could be in for a heatwave that could potentially last for six weeks.

Reports suggest a Spanish plume will push warm air over Britain, with temperatures reaching 30C by the middle of July, with the hot weather set to last until the end of August - great news for the school holidays.

See also: June officially among dullest and wettest on record

See also: Freak weather around the world (video)

This warm air - which is being pulled up from Africa and the Continent and pushed towards northwest Europe - could also bring thunderstorms, too, however.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Piers Corbyn, forecaster for WeatherAction, said: "From Wednesday onwards we are now looking at a period of very warm and at times hot and dry weather with the possibility of heatwave conditions building.

"High pressure is building over northern England with winds coming from a southeasterly direction.

"This will allow for major Spanish pluming with African air heading into Spain, France and Britain."

James Madden, from Exacta Weather, told the Express that he agrees the end of July could be a "scorcher". He said: "An evolving pattern of widespread settled weather and very warm to hot conditions will pave the way for the perfect start to the school summer holidays for many parts of the country during the second half of this month.

"This will then pave the way for what is likely to be a pleasant and potentially scorching July period, in particular, during the second half of the month when it's likely to become very hot at times across many parts of the country."

The news is certainly music to our ears after it was recently revealed that June was one of the wettest and dullest starts to summer since records began, according to the Met Office.

Despite the temperature being above average for the first month of summer, there were just 138 hours of sun - making it the seventh dullest June since 1929.

It was also the wettest start to summer since 2012, with an average 101.8mm of rain falling across Britain - 39% more than usual.

Data from the Met Office confirmed it was the 11th wettest June since records began in 1910.

So, time to get that staycation booked: