Wales enjoys mini-heatwave

The beach could be the best place to cool down this weekend

Most of Wales has been enjoying the hottest weekend of the year, with thousands of sunseekers heading for the beach.

Forecasters said the mini-heatwave would continue in many areas, with temperatures in Wales hitting 24C (75F).

Very warm weather was predicted for much of Saturday, with Sunday a few degrees cooler.

South Wales was among the hottest parts of Britain on Friday, with temperatures in Cardiff joining Blackpool and Dublin peaking at 25C (77F) - a good 6C higher than average for the time of year.

BBC Wales weatherman Derek Brockway said the heatwave would ease in the south and west, with a chance of thundery showers in places.

It looks like it's going to stay warm for a while now

Weatherman Jeremy Plester

Although most places would remain dry, there would be more cloud in the south and west on Sunday.

Fresher

There would be also be some risk of showers on Sunday, although temperatures would go up to 23C (73F).

It will get brighter and fresher from the west on Monday.

Jeremy Plester, from the Press Association WeatherCentre, said summer had certainly arrived and was going to stay in much of the UK well into next week.

Barbecue sales are soaring along with thermometers

"This is it," he said. "It looks like it's going to stay warm for a while now.

"We're doing pretty well and it looks like it's going to remain hot for the weekend, although it might get a bit more sticky and muggy.

The sizzling weather brought huge increases in sales of barbecue foods and garden furniture as shoppers prepared for a weekend in the sunshine.

Charcoal

Asda reported that this week barbecue sales had shot up by 194% while charcoal sales rose by 357%.

Fresh barbecue meats sold 400% more than last week and garden furniture sales were up by 178%.

But it was not all good news. "Sunday and Monday could be a washout in the west," said Mr Plester.

"The rain might move in, although it'll stay dry and hot in the rest of the country well into next week."

The warmer weather will also mean misery for many hayfever sufferers as the pollen count soars.

Annular eclipse

Thousands of skygazers are expected in Scotland on Saturday to watch an annular eclipse of the sun, the first visible in Britain for more than 80 years.

The best views of the event will had be on the northern coast of Scotland at sunrise, provided the notoriously unstable Scottish weather allows for clear skies.

An annular eclipse occurs when the moon covers the centre of the sun but not its edges, so that a ring of light is left around the moon. The point of greatest eclipse is timed for 0408 BST.

Weather permitting, the spectacle is expected to rival the solar eclipse in Cornwall in 1999.