A SODDEN weekend may be fresh in the minds of people in Hampshire – but forecasters are expecting the weather to look on the bright side this week.

Sunny weather is predicted with temperatures creeping above average as the week progresses.

And for those beating the Monday blues by relishing next week’s bank holiday, there is the prospect of a scorching send-off for August.

The Met Office says that the first week in September could see temperatures rise even further as weather systems settle down.

Temperatures will start rising above 20C until the end of the week, when Hampshire could see the mercury hit the high 20s – where it will remain for most of the bank holiday weekend and beyond.