A Florida expat who relocated to the UK has admitted that even he was caught off guard by the intensity of the current heatwave, with temperatures predicted to hit 40 degrees Celsius in some areas on Thursday.
Unexpected Reaction to the Heat
Brett, who moved from Florida to Britain with his UK-born wife Gemma, shared his experience in a TikTok video on the YouTube channel How Great is Britain.
"A few months ago, my wife and I moved from Florida to England, and you would think that this type of heat that we're experiencing - again - in England, would be somewhat second nature or normal to us," he said. "But it is absolutely not."
He described an involuntary sound he made when getting into his car. "What I'm realising is, part of moving internationally is having new experiences. One of my new experiences was just getting into the car, sitting down on the seat, touching the steering wheel, and making a noise that I have never, ever made before in my life. I can't even recreate it."
Describing the sound as "completely involuntary", he added: "It just came out of me. I didn't know that I could make a sound like that. But that's what this heat does. It is crazy intense." He concluded by saying he was "about to melt".
Heatwave Duration and Forecast
The Met Office's red heat warning remains in place until midnight on Thursday, with overnight temperatures unlikely to fall below 20 degrees across many regions. However, relief is expected soon.
The Met Office stated: "Thursday will see the peak of the heat for many, though those further east will retain extreme heat on Friday and Saturday and could continue to see further impacts, which has resulted in Amber warnings. The far southeast will retain the warmth the longest, though there should be a climb-down in figures by Saturday, with peaks around 32 degrees likely."
Next week is expected to bring a change to more average temperatures and a mixture of wind and rain, particularly in the North West.
Thunderstorms and Rainfall Expected
Certain parts of the country are bracing for heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on Friday. Wales is set to bear the brunt of the wet weather, with torrential downpours striking Cardiff from 2am before pushing northwards into England until around 6am.
Scotland will see a swathe of rain cutting through its central belt and over Fort William at 2:15am, subsequently sweeping further north. By 6:30am on Friday, southern Scotland will be contending with heavy showers over Edinburgh, spreading up towards Glasgow and Aberdeen.
England faces a similarly soggy night, with showers tracking across the West Country in the early hours before reaching as far north as Liverpool and settling over Northumberland at approximately 6:30am. Belfast could wake to particularly fierce rainfall at around 7am.
By 9:30am, the vast majority of England, Wales and Northern Ireland should be largely clear of rain, although a substantial band of showers will persist over Scotland. The Met Office has described Friday's forecast as "rather cloudy across northern regions with outbreaks of rain and thunderstorms, accompanied by hail and gusty winds".
