UK weather today – Brits pack beaches for 35C scorcher as cops turn away tourists amid ‘red alert’ overcrowding
BRITS have packed out beaches today for ‘Scorcher Saturday’ as temperatures rise to 35C – but cops have had to turn tourists away from the busiest spots amid ‘red alert’ overcrowding fears.
The car park at Camber Sands in East Sussex was shut by 10am, while police are telling people to keep away from beaches in Bournemouth – a day after miles of the seafront were closed yesterday.
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This afternoon, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council’s beach check app showed 18 of its beaches on red alert, warning people to avoid the areas because safe social distancing was not possible.
And further west in Dorset, police are turning furious drivers away from Durdle Door as roads in Lulworth shut because of the volume of visitors.
It comes as emergency services fear they’ll be inundated as many head for beaches around the country.
The UK sizzled during the hottest August day for almost 20 years yesterday.
And forecasters say the heatwave is set to stick around for the weekend – before thunderstorms and HAIL roll in early next week.
Councils and police are expecting another hugely busy day after hundreds of thousands of people headed for the coastline on Friday.
Which beaches are full in Bournemouth?
Police and council officials are urging visitors to keep away from the following beaches:
- Sandbanks
- Shore Road
- Alum Chine
- Durley Chine
- Mudeford Sandspit
- Mudeford Quay
- Avon Beach
- Friar’s Cliff
- Highcliffe Beach
- Southbourne Beach
- Fisherman’s Walk
- Boscombe Beach East
- Bournemouth Beach East
- Bournemouth Beach West
- Middle Chine
- Branksome Dene Chine
- Branksome Chine
- Boscombe Beach West
Cops have already warned coachloads of party-goers heading for Camber Sands to keep away – and this morning, they were forced to close car parks at the popular East Sussex beach.
Rumours of an illegal party spread online on Friday.
Posts on social media have been touting a “beach cookout” at a “secret location” on Sunday, with organisers claiming it will be a “private event” where no food or alcohol will be sold.
Police bosses said: “Any event of more than 30 people, without agreement from the police and the local authority, will not be allowed to go ahead.
“Rother District Council and Sussex Police will be monitoring arrivals at the beach and will disperse or turn away any large groups or gatherings.
“Anyone who has bought a ticket for an event at Camber should contact the event organiser and ask for a refund.”
Yesterday, Bournemouth council closed 20 of the resort’s 24 beaches over fears crowded visitors, who created 15-mile tailbacks on roads in the area as they rushed to the coast, couldn’t safely socially distance.
And police are today urging visitors to keep away from huge stretches of the coastline once again as beaches fill.
Council officials say: “Our advice to visitors would be to avoid these areas, turn away and come back another day when it less busy.’’
Firefighters also fear blazes could break out during the hot dry weather, with officials asking visitors not to have fires in the open.
This morning, a number of tents could be seen on the sand as sun-worshippers skip queues to bag the best spots.
Roads around nearby Sandbanks in Poole are at a standstill.
Drivers report ‘very long queues’, with a 40-minute wait to travel under two miles, while a car park at the resort has closed.
Roads to beaches in Lulworth, Dorset have shut because of the number of people trying to get to the coast.
Officers from Dorset Police’s No Excuses team said: “The roads into Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door are now closed.
“There is over a mile-and-a-half of queuing traffic on the approach roads which will need to be turned around.
“Understandably, there are some very unhappy people as some have travelled from significant distances.
“As the hot weather is expected to continue over the weekend, expect this to happen again tomorrow.”
Car parks in Lulworth have closed.
There are also long delays on the A31 through the New Forest in Hampshire as people head for the coast.
What can Brits expect from the weather today?
The mercury could climb to a roasting 37C today
Saturday started with an “impressive” 20C difference between parts of Scotland and south-east England, Met Office officials say.
While the south will see blazing sunshine, temperatures in northern parts of the UK will remain in the high teens, thanks – or no thanks – to a North Sea coast breeze.
Forecaster Marco Petagna said that although those in the south-east will fare best from the sunshine, there could be ‘isolated showers’.
But the Met Office’s deputy chief meteorologist Dan Harris says thunderstorms are on the way for all of the UK on Monday, Tuesday and possibly Wednesday.
Some places are likely to be hit with up to 80mm of rain in just a few hours.
In North Wales, described as being a scene of “bedlam” yesterday, police have reported a “considerable build-up”.
Brecon in South Wales is also “very busy” as walkers head for the hills.
Meanwhile, people living in Devon and Cornwall are ‘furious’ after thousands of tourists flocked to seaside towns.
Locals and business owners say Salcombe, known as ‘Chelsea-on-Sea’, is heaving and busier than ever before.
And the mayor hit out at tourists who ‘seem to think they’re in a bubble’.
Devon and Cornwall’s Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez said the region is braced for an exceptionally busy weekend.
PCC Hernandez said: “Roads, beauty spots and town centres are likely to be exceptionally busy this weekend and we are asking visitors to allow for extra time for their journeys, pack extra suncream and be cautious with their alcohol consumption.”
“I particularly want residents and visitors to take extra care around the coast.”
And in Dartmoor, where many are heading for ‘staycations’, fire crews say barbecues and campfires are banned, warning of a high risk of fire.
It comes as a ‘Saharan’ blast of sunshine saves the UK’s summer as many face staying home over fears they’ll be subjected a 14-day quarantine upon their return.
Weatherman John Hammond, of Weathertrending, told Sun Online: “Unlike last week’s ‘one-day wonder’, this heat is going to hit and hold for the best part of a week in some places.
“Some southern areas will be sitting near 30C for several days in a row, with some uncomfortably warm nights too.”
Met Office forecasters have issued with a weather warning for the whole of the UK for thunderstorms on Monday and Tuesday next week.
They say some areas can even expect huge hailstones to fall.
This morning, forecasters extended the warning into a third day – Wednesday – and say there’s a “small chance” that fast flowing or deep floodwater could cause “danger to life”.
Yesterday, London saw Friday’s hottest temperatures with Heathrow Airport reaching a sizzling 36.4C and the mercury passing 36.3C at Kew Gardens.
Gatwick Airport and Cambridge also recorded times of 33C with Wiggonholt in West Sussex clocking up 32.9C.
Friday was the hottest August day for 17 years, with the highest temperature recorded at 38.5C at Faversham in Kent on August 10, 2003.
Forecasters predict summer could be saved by a plume of hot air from the continent, making the UK hotter than the Sahara in the next few days.
Brian Gaze, a forecaster at The Weather Outlook, said: “This heatwave is like a blowtorch that will scorch across much of the country.
“It’s going to be a glorious weekend.”
Met Office forecaster Grahame Madge told The Sun: “Last July, the UK recorded its hottest ever temperature of 38.7C in Cambridge and we cannot rule out that temperatures may rise above that.
“This sudden spike in temperature will see Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Essex get the best of the weather but temperatures will be in the mid-to-high 30s across the country.”
Coastguard officials are braced for hundreds of call-outs across the weekend.
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It comes after the service reported its busiest day for more than four years on July 31, when it was called to 329 incidents.
On that day, the UK recorded the hottest day of the year and the third warmest on record at 37.8C.
Yesterday, the coastguard was called to 275 incidents.
Matt Leat, head of infrastructure and technology lead at HM Coastguard, said: “Looking back to last Friday (July 31), we are going to hit that many number of call-outs potentially today and this weekend.”