Quite a spread, but just look how many runs there are with the max well into the 30s next week. The chart for Brighton goes even hotter with a 36C. Then add another 2-3C for GFS underestimation.

Met office still going for ‘hot or very hot’ mentioned for the foreseeable future.

ECM shows the block establishing north of the U.K. later on with generally slack conditions. You get the feeling if we don’t hit 35 next week it may well do so the following.

Forget 35, we want 40C! 

Interesting times ahead. Even if it does all go bang afterwards, this has been the best summer I've lived through.

But the hot weather lover in me is enjoying the 3rd of our 4 consecutive upgrades as told to me by the tea leaves yesterday.

GEFS looking very warm and very dry. ECM still pretty reasonable too. And ECM is the king of course.

ECM has maintained the same signal more or less throughout, and has performed more convincingly of all the models. GFS in comparison has been more variable, certainly beyond T120 anyway.

I get the feeling that the significance of this summer is creeping up on many without them really realising the impact of what is taking place. Now that a really big heatwave may occur over the weekend and into next week, this attitude may change.

The point about 1976 was that it really began with a 'bang' earlier on with the ludicrous hot heatwave 21st June through to 9th July. When that happened, everyone knew that something special was happening. Everything after that was a bonus, so that although there was only sustained warmth until the end of August, the impact of the summer of 1976 was already firmly established in everyone's minds.

If we get the 'big' heatwave next week, perhaps running into the beginning of August, then everything changes.  The cards are on the table. People will then realise we are facing a truly spectacular summer, a summer potentially even warmer than the summer of 1976, and therefore the hottest summer of all in the CET series stretching back to 1659. That alone is a truly incredible statistic, and for me having vividly experienced the summer of 1976, a truly incredible weather experience I thought I would never see again.

I think this already a better summer than 1976 - I remember 1976 well. But this summer certainly in my part of the country commenced in May - May was excellent.

The summer of 1976 didn't commence until the 20th June of that year and it was over on the August Bank Holiday.

The beginning of June was quite warm, certainly in London anyway. I had the misfortune to be sitting 'O' levels which stretched from the end of May right up to the beginning of the heatwave. Either way, June 1976 came out at 17.0C in the CET series, not bad at all.

But yes, up to today, this summer does feel just as good if not better than 1976. It's certainly been drier than 1976, my poor lawn is now nearly dead!

Yes I agree with you, the dates 6th to about 11th June 1976 were very warm, if memory serves me correctly. In fact May 1976 had some good moments too. To me this year has been incredibly similar to 1976. A few poor days in the middle of June and a slight switch off of heat in the middle of July. I lived in Manchester at the time, so things may have been different elsewhere.

As others have said, 1976 was well remembered for the incredible late June / early July heatwave. The rest of the summer never reached those heights apart from a couple of spells in August. I still think August 1995 is the best summer month ever.

Yes August 95 was an epic summer spell. Seen in modern times as the best summer per se simply because the great weather fell within the month of August, which is the quintessential summer month because the children are off school. 

I could easily be wrong, but I think the extreme heat lovers will be disappointed and we'll keep getting more of the very warm and dry weather with the blocking high closer to us and the troughing further south.