Is a UK heatwave in the weather forecast for September?

Autumn has begun - meteorologically speaking - and the weather has turned distinctly autumnal for many of us with blustery showers.

The wet and windy weather follows what was almost certainly the warmest summer on record, according to the Met Office.

For much of the week ahead the weather looks quite unsettled with areas of low pressure bringing wet and blustery conditions.

Temperatures will stay around average until the weekend when it will turn a little warmer but will a September heatwave lead to a so-called Indian summer?

With a deep area of low pressure moving in on Wednesday, it will turn wet and windy for many

The Met Office released the new set of storm names for 2025/26 on Monday with Amy, Bram, Chandra and Dave the first four on the list.

Storms can be named by either the Met Office, Met Eireann or KMNI for impacts in the UK, Ireland or the Netherlands.

While a potentially deep area of low pressure is likely to bring wet and windy conditions on Wednesday, it should not be bad enough to be named Storm Amy just yet.

There is quite a lot of rainfall in the forecast this week and into the start of next and it will remain quite blustery with the potential for localised gales on Wednesday.

Temperatures this week will mostly be around the early September average of 17 to 22C but warmer air will move in from the near-continent over the weekend.

By Sunday, temperatures across England and Wales should get into the twenties with 25 or 26C possible in south-east England.

Some media reports are suggesting a heatwave or Indian summer but temperatures are not expected to reach the official heatwave criteria.

While the term Indian summer is sometimes used to describe a period of warm weather once traditional summer is over, its origin comes from warmer weather experienced later in the autumn - in October or November - after the first frosts.

The heatwave of September 2023 was hotter than June, July and August of that year

Experiencing periods of warmer weather in September is not uncommon.

We have seen plenty of examples in the past when August weather has been mixed and has then turned warm and sunny for September.

In 2023, the start of September was very warm with a heatwave bringing seven consecutive days with a temperature exceeding 30C.

It was a significant September heatwave, external - the longest on record - surpassing 1929 and 1911 when there were five consecutive days of 30C or more.

A temperature of 33.5C was recorded in Faversham, Kent on 10 September 2023, which became the hottest day of that year.

Having the hottest day of the year fall in September has only occurred on four years previously.

The hottest September day on record was in 35.6C on 2 September 1906 set at Bawtry, South Yorkshire.

There is no sign in the forecast for temperatures to be anywhere near as high this September.

You can keep up to date with the latest forecast for September with our Weather for the Week Ahead or Monthly Outlook.