Britain is enjoying ‘summer’s last hurrah’ with temperatures hitting 26C (79F) today before heavy rainfall is expected to drench parts of the country this weekend.
The Met Office said warm and bright conditions will continue for most areas this afternoon following a cloudy morning, after a high of 25.5C (77.9F) yesterday.
The UK is currently experiencing high pressure but this will soon move north and east, allowing thundery showers to develop in the South just before the weekend.
The warmest temperatures today are expected in London and would make the UK hotter than Ibiza and Rome (both 23C/73F), Corfu (24C/75F) and Mallorca (25C/77F).
Highs of 22C (72F) are expected in the South tomorrow, before similar maximums over the weekend with highs of 24C (75F) on Saturday and 22C (72F) on Sunday.
But heavy downpours are set to hit central and southern England and parts of Wales over the weekend, and weather warnings may be issued over the coming days.
Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said: ‘We are being spoiled by almost summer’s last hurrah, but there’s a bit of a change coming down the line as we move our way through towards Friday, and especially the weekend.’
So far this month, the UK has seen an average 49.5mm (1.95in) of rainfall – which is typical for this time of year, Mr Stroud said.
‘Successive bands of rain’ and ‘normal conditions for autumn’ are expected next week, he added.
Yesterday, temperatures hit 25.5C (77.9F) in Inverness, which is 14C above average for this time of year.
And a temperature of 26C today would the first time such a high had been reached in the UK in nearly a fortnight since Aviemore in the Highlands hit 26.2C (79.1F) on September 7.
Pedestrians cross Westminster Bridge in the warm autumn sunshine yesterday afternoon
People enjoy the weather by the River Thames in London yesterday as temperature rise
The conditions are in stark condition to less than a week ago when parts of the country were experiencing sub-zero weather.
England and South Wales both recorded their earliest frost in September since 2019 as temperatures fell to -2.7C (27.F1F) last Friday.
However, a high of 26C today would still be well off the UK date record for September 19 – set in 1926 when Camden Square in London hit 32.2C (90.0F).
Today, the mercury will get up to 26C (79F) in the South, 20C (68F) in the North and 18C (64F) in Scotland.
By tomorrow, highs of 22C (72F) are expected in the South, 19C (66F) in the North and 17C (63F) in Scotland.
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