UK weather forecast: Glorious sunshine with highs of 35C today, before the onset of thunderstorms

The UK could see highs of 35C in the south-east today, making it the hottest day since 2020, but then the weather will take a turn over the weekend as rain and thunderstorms hit

Brits face a sweltering day today with the culmination of a mini-heatwave with temperatures reaching 35C before rain and thunderstorms arrive at the weekend.

A plume of hot air rose north from Iberia this week, bringing highs of 29.5C in west London on Thursday, the hottest day of the year so far.

And while it could get as high as 35C on Friday, making it the hottest day since 2020, it still won’t be anywhere near as hot as parts of Spain and France.

Spain has recorded highs of 43C and the 40C in southern France set a new record as the earliest date of the year for such a high temperature to be reached in the country.

Met Office forecaster Alex Burkill said: “Some of us are going to see further up going into Friday and due to this anticyclone bringing lots of nice and sunny weather and also pulling mid 30C highs reaching in hot air from the south.”

He added: “But notice this cold front coming in from the northwest bringing with it some clouds, rain and also some cooler air.”

It was quite warm at the start of Friday with temperatures staying above 20C in some areas making it a ‘tropical’ night, but it will be a very different picture in parts of Scotland too.

“It’s likely to be a wet and windy start for north-west Scotland, but it should gradually ease as it moves south and east,” Burkill said.

And while some of that rain is set to hit parts of northern England by the afternoon, he continued: “Elsewhere in most of England and Wales there’s plenty of hotter sunshine to be had, with temperatures heading south-east towards highs of 34C or 35C and that will make it the hottest day of the year so far, and indeed the hottest day since 2020.

“Note that the heat will be fairly widespread across much of England, temperatures in the low 30C could spread as far west as Yorkshire and as far west as Devon. As UV levels will be very high, be careful when in the sun for long periods of time.”

Rain and thunderstorms will set in into Saturday, which will spread further into Sunday.

“By Saturday we will see a fairly cloudy picture in parts of central England and Wales where outbursts of rain could become heavy, perhaps even thunderstormy, as we progress through the afternoon,” Burkill said.

“Further north there is plenty of fine sunny weather here but across Scotland and Northern Ireland there are many showers here and it remains windy which is unusual for the time of year with the risk of coastal storms.”

UK forecast for the next 5 days

Hot across much of central and south Britain, cooler tomorrow.

Today:

Rain over Scotland is easing this morning as it moves south, followed by sunny spells and some showers. Windy with strong north winds. Dry and increasingly sunny further south and falling hot or very hot.

This evening:

Clouds and patchy light rain are descending southward over England and Wales, but southern areas are dry and muggy. Much cooler north with clear periods. Windy over northern Scotland with showers.

Saturday:

Cloudy in central and southern regions with outbursts of thunderstorm rain, becoming heavy for a while. The extreme south is likely to remain dry and hot with hazy sunshine. cooler in the northwest.

Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:

Rain in the far south on Sunday, partly heavy. Showers in the north, otherwise sunny. Many southern areas will be dry Monday and Tuesday, but rain is spreading northwest.