ANYONE hoping for a scorcher of a holiday season will be disappointed to hear that we're set for a “typical British summer”, according to Met Office forecasters.

ANYONE hoping for a scorcher of a holiday season will be disappointed to hear that we're set for a “typical British summer”, according to Met Office forecasters.

The Met Office's long range forecast was issued today and brought with it mixed results for the summer ahead.

Summer temperatures across the UK are more likely to be warmer than average and rainfall is likely to be near or above average for the three months of summer, the forecasters found.

The risk of exceptional rainfall on the same scale as the summer of last year, which left large parts of the country deluged with flood waters, was “a very low probability”.

The Met Office said it was working with the Environment Agency and others across government “to ensure that we are ready to meet the challenges that severe weather may present us at any time of the year”.

Rob Varley, government services director at the Met Office, said: “Our long-range forecasts are proving useful to a range of people, such as emergency planners and the water industry, in order to help them plan ahead.

“They are not forecasts which can be used to plan a summer holiday or inform an outdoor event.”

Brian Golding, head of forecasting at the Met Office, said: “Seasonal forecasting is a difficult thing to do and this places some limitations on our forecasts.

“Our predictions for last autumn, winter and spring have all given accurate advice, giving more confidence in our latest summer forecast.”