´óÏó´«Ã½

Royal Ascot, Queen's tennis and the summer solstice. All big summer occasions and all in the calendar this week, but will we at last add some proper summer weather to that list too?

Judging from the comments I get in the street on a daily basis, it has not escaped any of us that it has been an underwhelming start to summer so far. A change to something far more seasonal would be welcomed by opened arms by many.

Looking at the forecast charts this week, though, there’s more optimism to be had over what is coming our way.

The unseasonal chill has perhaps been the most noticeable aspect of our weather so far this month.

Temperatures by day and by night have been running one to three Celsius below average for the month, and there have been mornings where some have woken up to a frost on cars and on the grass.

The strength of the June Sun can sometimes mask the colder air, but the Sun has been lacking for some too, especially in the north-west of Scotland.

Here, some have seen less than half of the normal quota of sunshine for the first half of the month. This contrasts greatly with the central belt of Scotland where it has been sunnier than normal, due to the shelter from the dominant north-west winds.

As well as dull, northern Scotland has also particularly wet compared to normal.

In contrast to many recent months though, parts of central and southern England have at last experienced a drier-than-normal spell.

High pressure and a building heatwave in eastern US is about to send ripples through the atmosphere that will at long last send the jet stream to the north of the UK later this week.

This will alter our weather patterns and shift the direction of our winds to a more southerly direction, boosting the temperature.

The shift in the jet stream will also help to move low pressure a little further away from us. This should mean rain will also not be as abundant.

Hold your horses! Before you get too carried away, we still have a few chilly nights to come across the northern half of the UK.

From midweek onwards, though, temperatures will rise widely with most areas at last experiencing temperatures we should have for the time of year – daytime maximums in the high teens and low 20s Celsius.

We never completely get rid of rain either. Areas of low pressure clipping the far north and passing close to the south-east will threaten some rain at times.

Areas of showers are also likely to cross the country at the start of the weekend.

However, some computer models are hinting at a stronger build of high pressure next week and possible south-easterly winds. If this does actually play out we could see temperatures climb into mid- to high 20s for some.

It is by no means a certainty, and at the moment the prospect of our meeting heatwave criteria is small, but I think many of us will grasp at any glimpses of summer weather after the month so far.