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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
World
Natasha Davies

UK Met Office weekend weather forecast plus what is an Indian summer and are we going to have one?

According to Met Office forecasters, the country is set for some much cooler temperatures this weekend.

Clear skies on Friday night have brought the temperature right down across the country, making way for a chilly start to Saturday.

Fortunately, the weekend should start with a mainly dry day with light winds and sunny spells but some showers are possible.

Sunday also looks to start on the cool side but will be another dry day with some sunshine.

There will be some rain in the northwest throughout the afternoon which will spread southeastwards during Monday.

And looking at the forecast into next weeks, things will continue to feel very autumnal.

A Met Office forecaster said: "There will be periods of rain, interspersed with occasional drier and brighter interludes, these most prolonged in the south.

"It will often be windy, especially in the north, where there will be gales at times.

"Temperatures are likely to range from around normal to somewhat below, so it will feel quite autumnal, especially during the mornings as some chilly nights are likely."

The forecast for Bristol this weekend

The region will have a chilly start with a mainly dry day with some lovely long sunny spells. There will be some light winds and temperatures are expected to reach highs of 19C which is just slightly below average for this time of the year.

And Sunday is expected to be another dry day before heavy rain sets in overnight and into Monday.

So could we be in line for an Indian summer?

When we have a warm period of weather during autumn, it is referred to as an "Indian Summer".

The term was first published by the Met Office Meteorological Glossary in 1916 and definted it as a 'warm, calm spell of weather occurring in autumn, especially in October and November'.

The origins of the phrase are not exactly clear, according to Met Office experts, but it has been used to refer to hazy autumn conditions that allowed Native American Indians to continue hunting.

The term was first used in the UK in the early 19th century and went on to gain widespread usage. The concept of a warm autumn spell though was not new to the UK. Previously, variations of "Saint Martin's summer" were widely used across Europe to describe warm weather surrounding St Martin's Day (11 November).

Currently, the warmest recorded temperatures in the UK in October and November are 29.9 °C on 1 October 2011, in Gravesend, Kent, and 22.4 °C on 1 November 2015, at Trawsgoed, Ceredigion.

At the moment the long range forecast for the end of September and first week of October says temperatures are likely to stay near to, or a little below average. But this could change and forecasters expect some spells of drier and warmer weather after some wet and windy conditions.

For the latest news in and around Bristol, check back on Bristol Live's homepage.

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