UK weather maps show exact day 31C Iberian plume blasts Britain - 22 hottest cities

New UK weather maps have turned volcanic red for August as we can now reveal the exact date a sizzling 31C Iberian plume blasts Britain. The UK has had its hottest day of the year on Tuesday 1st July, with the mercury hitting 35.8C (96.4F) at Faversham, Kent.

But after a sizzling start to summer and June and July heatwaves, recent weeks of low pressure have seen swathes of Britain soaked with heavy downpours and thunderstorms. Now new heat maps from WXCharts.com show from Tuesday 5th August the UK starts to bake again with temperatures peaking on Wednesday 6th August with 30-31C (86-87.8F) roasting 22 cities in the south of England.

Areas set to sizzle at 31C include London, the South East and the East of England, including Essex, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. Areas such as Hampshire, Dorset, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire may also see highs of 30°C.

A 'volcanic red' chart for Europe shows the source of the plume roaring up from the Iberian peninsula with Spain and Portugal dark red with temperatures set to soar to mid to high 30s.

BBC weather presenter Ben Rich explains: "As we see the week out and head into the weekend, an area of high pressure extending from the Azores archipelago in the mid-Atlantic tries to have a bit more influence on our weather.

"This means there should be fewer showers, a bit more dry weather and sunshine, especially in the south and west.

"There are some signs that high pressure may start to take more control as we head deeper into August, with more chance of dry and settled weather.

"If it sticks around for long enough - and if southerly or easterly winds develop - some very warm or hot weather could return."

The Met Office long-range forecast, covering 29 July to 7 August, suggests an increased chance of dry and sunny weather in the southern and eastern parts of the country.

"A weather regime dominated by westerly winds is likely at first," the Met Office noted. "This will likely bring rain and showers at times, interspersed with periods of more settled weather."

These are the 22 UK cities that are set to reach 30C or hotter on 6th August:

- Bath

- Brighton and Hove

- Bristol

- Cambridge

- Canterbury

- Chelmsford

- Chichester

- Colchester

- Ely

- Gloucester

- Hereford

- London

- Milton Keynes

- Oxford

- Portsmouth

- Salisbury

- Southampton

- Southend-on-Sea

- St Albans

- Wells

- Winchester

- Worcester