Indian Summer As UK's Weird Weather Continues

Parts of the UK are expected to enjoy an 'Indian summer', as the country's year of weird weather continues.

Temperatures of up to 18C are forecast for the later part of next week, far higher than the month's average of 13C.

The unseasonable weather follows a year that has seen some of the biggest fluctuations in rainfall on record.

A drought affected large swathes of England during the spring, prompting a number of hosepipe bans.

But that gave way to weeks of torrential downpours in some regions, with a series of floods during the summer months.

Sky News meteorologist Chris England said: "It's been a year of extremes in many respects.

"It was a very dry spring, but the summer turned out to be a very wet one.

"However, if we take May, for example, the first half was very cool and dull, but it turned hot and sunny at the end."

He said the weather would be much warmer than normal during the last days of October.

"We are now in for a very mild period and temperatures will be unseasonably high during the course of next week, at around 17 or 18C.

"After many parts of the country experienced frost over recent weeks, that will make it almost the classic definition of an 'Indian summer'.

"But it will not get anywhere near as warm as the first weekend of October last year, when it reached around 30C."

Hosepipe bans were lifted in June after being imposed after months of dry weather in April.

The country has since been hit by a succession of floods, including one that saw a young couple drown as in North Wales last month as they tried to save their pet dog.