Sean Batty's weather forecast: Where in Scotland will get the best weather this week?

You may remember that last week I said this could be Scotland’s best week of the year so far, well it’s arrived.

For most of the country, this week is looking absolutely glorious, with sunshine and warmth lasting right through the weekend – and quite possibly beyond.

While much of England has been enjoying what feels like an endless summer of hot, dry weather, Scotland has been a little slower to get going. But it finally looks as though summer may have found us.

After a mixed weekend with plenty of cloud around, those who caught the sunshine – particularly across the south and west – still enjoyed some very warm temperatures.

This week, that warmth and sunshine spreads across much more of the country and sticks around for several days.

Where will get the most sun?

There is one exception, though. Parts of the north and east are likely to see low cloud and haar drifting in from the North Sea on the easterly breeze. That could keep temperatures noticeably lower and the sunshine more limited at times.

The flip side is that western Scotland is set to enjoy the very best of the weather, with long spells of sunshine and temperatures climbing into the high 20s later in the week.

Areas most likely to stay cloudier at times:

The Northern Isles
Caithness
Moray
Aberdeenshire
Angus coast
East Fife
East Lothian coast
Edinburgh (at times)

Sunniest places this week:

The Inner Hebrides
South and west Highlands
Argyll & Bute
West & East Dunbartonshire
Renfrewshire & East Renfrewshire
Inverclyde
Ayrshire
Dumfries & Galloway
Glasgow

If you’re looking for blue skies this week, western Scotland is definitely where you want to be.

Hot spots

With an easterly breeze in place, the warmest weather will almost always be found in the west this week. Places such as Oban, Fort William, Glasgow, Ayr and Dumfries all have a good chance of featuring among Scotland’s hottest locations over the coming days.

How hot will it get?

So far, Scotland has only breached 30 degrees on one day this year (June 25), and even though this week will be hot, we may stay just below this threshold.

Thursday will probably be the hottest day of the week with peaks of 27C around Fort William and 28-29C around Glasgow, Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway.

If we do break the 30 degree ceiling, it’ll be on Thursday.

Laundry time

Unlike our previous warm spell, which came with fairly high humidity, this one brings much drier air. That means while you may notice your skin drying out a little more quickly, your washing will dry in no time too.

If you’ve got loads of laundry piling up, this is the week to get it outside.

Chilly nights

It might seem strange that after such warm days, the evenings can feel surprisingly cool. But that’s exactly what happens with dry air.

Because humidity is low, heat escapes much more quickly after sunset, so temperatures will drop away quite rapidly during the evening. If you’re planning a barbecue or sitting out in the garden, you may well find yourself running for a jumper once the sun goes down.

We may find some spots in the Borders, South Lanarkshire and the Highlands dropping close to 5C on some nights.

Wildfire risk

Another thing the low humidity does is dry out any dead weeds and grass, although most of it is probably fairly healthy just now after recent rainfall.

It’s usually the old vegetation which is the main risk as it only takes a rogue spark to engulf large areas of land, so be careful with matches, BBQs and cigarettes.

Further ahead forecast

The picture becomes much less certain next week.

The latest weather models are telling very different stories, ranging from a return to cooler, wetter and windier conditions to the warm, settled weather continuing – and perhaps even becoming hotter for a time.

Some projections even keep the warmth going until the end of the month.

So, for now, there’s no point looking too far ahead. After waiting so long for summer to properly arrive, I think most of us in Scotland will simply be making the most of the sunshine while it’s here.