The hottest day of the year is fast approaching, as the UK finally enjoys a prolonged spell of summer sunshine.
This week has already seen the mercury top 30C, and there’s more to come this weekend.
However, the mini-heatwave comes with a catch, with the Met Office warning of ‘uncomfortable’ tropical nights and thunderstorms in parts of the country.
The sunny spell will continue across the country as Friday will see highs of 27C in Manchester, 26C in Cardiff, 24C in Edinburgh and 29C in London.
Temperatures are set to climb even higher into the weekend as temperatures will reach the low thirties across England and Wales.
The forecaster says it expects the hottest day of the year so far by the end of the week, with parts of England to see 33C on Saturday or sooner.
The North East will see highs of 24C and the North West will reach 25C whilst Scotland will reach 22C, Northern Ireland 23C and Wales 24C.
Areas in the East Midlands are set to reach 30C whilst the West Midlands will experience highs of 29C.
Office Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: “High pressure is situated to the southeast of the UK, which is bringing more settled conditions and temperatures well above average for the time of year.
“While the highest temperatures are expected in the south, heatwave conditions are likely across much of England and Wales especially, with parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland also likely to see some unseasonably high temperatures.”
The south will face the majority of the scorch as Bristol in the South West will reach 28C and London in the South East will reach 33C.
Mr Gundersen explained why we are experiencing unusual highs for this time of year.
He said: “An active tropical cyclone season in the North Atlantic has helped to amplify the pattern across the North Atlantic, pushing the jet stream well to the north of the UK, allowing some very warm air to be drawn north.
“It’s a marked contrast to the much of meteorological summer, when the UK was on the northern side of the jet stream with cooler air and more unsettled weather.”
Conditions are expected to cool down a little by Sunday - but it’s expected to remain warm enough to have a BBQ instead of a roast dinner.
London will remain hot at 30C, the South West will reach 21C, Wales will hit 23C and the North West 24C. Northern Ireland and Scotland are expected to experience highs of 21C.
There’s also a chance of thunderstorms in western areas over the next couple of days and nights this is unlikely to be very widespread, according to the Met Office.
Britons can expect ‘uncomfortably warm’ nights to continue, especially in the South where residents can prepare to have to sleep through ‘tropical’ conditions as temperatures remain over 20C.