Wimbledon 2019: Heat held at bay as sunshine prevails into the first weekend of play

By Renee Duff, AccuWeather meteorologist

By Eric Leister, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Unlike last year's sizzling start to Wimbledon, this year's tournament will feature comfortable weather throughout the first week of play in London.

The third of the Grand Slam tournaments began on Monday, 1 July, and will end on Sunday, 14 July.

The London metro area experienced a brief burst of heat on Saturday as the high temperature soared to 34 C (93 F) at Heathrow Airport.

Fortunately for the comfort and safety of spectators and players, cooler air has since settled in and will stick around through this week.

"The start of Wimbledon was refreshingly cooler with the high near 22 C (72 F) on Monday and similar weather will prevail each day into this weekend," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Rob Richards.

These temperatures are right around average for this time of the year, he added.

Temperatures may climb slightly for Thursday and Friday. A high of 24 C (75 F) is forecast for Thursday before temperatures climb to around 25 C (77 F) on Friday.

The dry and sunny weather will continue this weekend as temperatures lower to around 22 C (72 F) for an afternoon high both days.

During 2018, the high on the first day of Wimbledon was 30 C (86 F), with the hottest day of the tournament being 7 July when the temperature reached 32 C (89 F).

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New this year at Wimbledon is a retractable roof at No. 1 Court, which will allow play to continue in the event of harsh weather conditions such as rain, wind and heat.

This week's dry, seasonable weather should not require the roof to be used for the first half of the tournament.

While fans and players will not have to take extra precautions from heat and brollies can be kept at home this week, protection will be needed from the strong July sun.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic attends a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London Saturday, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Richards expects each day this week to feature bright and sunny periods.

Hats, sunglasses and sun cream will be needed items for fans, especially those not sitting under cover.

For the most part, the wind should not be a big factor in play this week, with wind speeds generally under 24 km/h (15 mph) each day.

Heat may be held at bay for the duration of the tournament with seasonable temperatures expected for the second week of play.

The dry weather is unlikely to hold up as there will be an increased risk for showers during the final week of the tournament; however, no severe weather or heavy rainfall is expected at this time.

Download the free AccuWeather app to stay up to date on the latest forecast throughout the tournament. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.