SUMMER may be officially over but the sunshine and warm weather is well and truly ensconced over Worcestershire.

The expected Indian summer has arrived and is expected to stay for at least a week and possibly longer.

Worcester News weather expert Paul Damari said high pressure over the country was pushing the usual low pressure for this time of the year to the north giving us a dry, warm and sunny spell.

"I call it a St Luke's little summer when you get a spell of good weather around St Luke's Day. Other people call it an Indian summer. In the past few days we have had 16 to 18 degrees C, which is 61 to 64 degrees F. This is well above the average. The normal should be 14 degrees C."

He said August, September and the first days of October had been very dry in contrast to the record-breaking wet summer.

"Mother nature is balancing the books. The autumn is looking like it will be a warmer and drier autumn than normal," he said.

"I cannot see much change in the next five to seven days. It will be settled, with sunshine and variable skies with some cloud and light winds, although the nights could be chilly and the days pleasantly warm. It is ideal for taking a late holiday and very good for the farmers who want to sow their winter wheat."

He added that his gut instinct was that winter would be colder than last year but milder than average and erring on the dry side.