By Fionnuala Boyle
The UK is set for another day of sweltering conditions today with temperatures due to hit 35C in some areas. Much of England is set to be entering the fifth day of a heatwave . But not everyone will be basking in the toasty temperatures. An amber heat health alert has been extended across England until 9pm on Wednesday, July 2. However, there was quite an incredible contrast in the maximum temperature north and south of the border on Monday, June 30. In London, Heathrow recorded a piping hot 33.1C, while the thermometer only climbed to a meagre 13.7C in the Isle of Tiree in the north of Scotland. That’s a near 20C difference from the highest point of the country to the lowest. The disparity is even more staggering due to the fact that Tiree, the westernmost island in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides, is often dubbed the ‘ Hawaii of the North ‘. Tiree, also known as the Land Below the Waves, is very distinctly placed when it comes to the elements. The island owes much of its unique character to the Gulf Stream, which carries warm currents from the Caribbean across the Atlantic and washes them along Scotland鈥檚 west coast . Thanks to this oceanic gift, Tiree enjoys some of the mildest weather in the country, and an annual sunshine tally of around 1,500 hours, more than London. Evidently, this stat doesn’t seem to have stood up in the last day or so – and it seems this north/south divide is continuing. Looking ahead to how Scotland is going to fare weather-wise this week, Honor Criswick, Met Office Meteorologist , outlined more cloud and some showers for some. She said: “It’s been a very hot end to June but is there a change on the way for the beginning of July? It will still be very warm for the next 24 hours or so, but fresher feeling air is on the way. “It will be brighter, too, across western parts of Scotland… but plenty of cloud across eastern parts of Scotland … is where showers could develop. “These could possibly be heavy showers… but across the south and south-east, it will be wall-to-wall blue skies for many areas. It is set to be particularly hot around London, Sussex, Kent, and parts of East Anglia. “This may trigger some heavy showers into the afternoon and we may possibly see some thunderstorms , but these will tend to be located if they do take place.” Moving into Wednesday, July 2, showers are predicted to make a comeback across north west parts of Scotland, as we start to see more and more cloud throughout the course of the day, particularly around late afternoon. “Once again there is a chance we could see the odd heavier shower, but it will be feeling fresher across the north with more of a breeze,” Honor went on. “Many areas are likely to see a 8-9C difference in temperatures. “It will still be warm in the sunshine, but it’s not going to be muggy or uncomfortable. The main shower risk is for the far north of Scotland , where they could be heavy. Otherwise, there’ll be fairly similar temperatures to Tuesday. Still that fresher feeling air across the north but temperatures still mid to high teens.” The end of the week will see most of the north/south split, as on Friday, July 4, wet and windy weather will drift in across Scotland , possibly bringing blustery outbreaks. Annoyingly, temperatures in the high teens will be offset by this unsettled weather, although the country will face largely similar conditions to Wednesday and Thursday. The weekend is set to kick off with more cloud and rain on Saturday, as well as showery outbreaks. “There will perhaps be more high cloud creating hazy conditions at times, otherwise it’ll generally be a pleasant end to the week,” Honor added promisingly.