Meteorologists have raised drought concerns for Wales this summer with long dry spells forecast.

Although June is expected to be close to the average for rainfall and temperature, July and August could bring long dry spells and temperatures in the 30°C area.

Giving a long-range weather forecast for Wales this summer, senior meteorologist at Accuweather, Alan Reppert, said: "We are looking at some warm temperatures for much of the summer over Wales.

"Though we are not looking for a long heat wave, we see some occasional heat waves that will stretch for three to five days across the area before some closer to average temperatures come back.

"The worst time for these heat waves looks to be in July and August as June may still be a bit closer to average.

"We could see temperatures climbing to near 30°C at times.

"We are also concerned with some drought in the area as the rainfall will be pushed off to the north and more over Scotland and Northern Ireland and miss much of Wales.

"Rainfall will also be limited for much of the area and we could see some periods of over a week with no rainfall in July and August also.

"We should see some near normal rainfall in June though, but much less than average for July and August."

For the whole of the UK, temperatures will generally be at or above average from June into August, but the most intense heat will be found across the interior of Europe.

Stressed and damaged crops may result from the hot, dry weather, and water shortages are also possible in some areas.

There will also be an elevated risk for wildfires by the late summer due to the dry conditions.

The most likely area to avoid drought will be across Scotland, where fronts will bring occasional rainfall and cooler air.

Meterologists at Accuweather say the biggest concern this summer will be long-duration heat waves that will grip areas from Portugal and Spain to Poland and Hungary.

The heat will begin in June across the Iberian Peninsula before spreading north and eastward throughout the summer months.

The heat will be more persistent than during last summer, when record temperatures were recorded in parts of Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Scandinavia, but generally lasted for only a week or so at a time.

Even when the most intense heat waves wane, it will be brief and temperatures will remain near or above normal before returning to dangerous levels once again.

The hottest locations throughout Portugal and Spain will see multi-day heat waves with temperatures peaking at or above 43°C (110°F).

There are also concerns over wildfires across much of continental Europe.