Sun-seekers are expected to flock to Kent’s beaches in the coming months after the Met Office predicted a hot and dry summer.
Temperatures across the UK are likely to be warmer than average and rainfall near or below average from the beginning of June until the end of August.
The long-range forecast will be welcomed by businesses in seaside towns such as Margate, Ramsgate and Leysdown that have suffered as a result of two successive wet summers.
Ewen McCallum, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said things were looking promising.
He said: “After two disappointingly wet summers, the signs are much more promising this year.
“We can expect times when temperatures will be above 30C, something we hardly saw at all last year.”
August last year was seen as the dullest on record as there were only 105.5 hours of sunshine compared to an average for the month of 165.
It was also the fifth wettest since records began, with 139.8mm of rain falling.
The weather did not get much better in the months to come, with snow causing havoc throughout Kent and the rest of the UK in February.
Despite the positive outlook, the Met Office warned that there was still a risk of heavy downpours this summer due to the heat.
Government services director Rob Varley added: “Our long-range forecasts are proving useful to a range of people, such as emergency planners and the water industry, in order to help them plan ahead.
“They are not forecasts that can be used to plan a summer holiday or inform an outdoor event.”
POSTED: 04/05/2009 10:00:00
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