The sunny spells and warm weather is set to come to an end this weekend as Britons will be hit by lower temperatures, rain and overcast skies.
Thursday was the hottest day of the year so far with sunshine bringing temperatures to 19.2C.
The highest temperature was recorded in Northolt, London, and exceeded the previous hottest day of the year, when 18.7C was recorded at Kew Gardens last week.
It meant parts of the UK were hotter than Barcelona, with the Spanish city seeing highs of 16C.
But the weekend weather is looking a little more drab with rain and clouds expected across the UK.
On Saturday the south of England will see temperatures reach 12C and just 10C in Manchester, according to the Met Office.
Cloud will cover most of the UK with some sunny spells in Scotland with rain forecast over the south west of England and Wales.
On Sunday the Met Office predicts it will be warmer with highs of 14C in London and the south of England and 13C in Manchester.
The north of England is predicted to see some rain before clouds and fog spread across the country later in the day.
It comes after what was the wettest on record for the counties of Cornwall, Leicestershire and the West Midlands, according to provisional figures from the Met Office.
Dorset and Warwickshire had their second wettest winter since comparable records began in 1836, while southern England experienced its fourth wettest.
In the past three months, a string of low-pressure weather systems moved across the UK from the Atlantic, with repeated outbreaks of wet and windy conditions.
Three named storms in January – Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra – all brought downpours to many areas, leading to flooding and widespread travel disruption.
The rain persisted for much of February, although drier and sunnier conditions arrived towards the end of the month.
Weather forecast for the next five days:
Today:
Scotland and Northern Ireland look largely dry with plenty of sunshine. Meanwhile, England and Wales will be rather cloudy with some rain, this chiefly across northern and western England and Wales this morning, then across southeast England later. Generally cooler.
Tonight:
A dry, though increasingly breezy night in the north with clear spells allowing some frost to form. Cloudier and milder across England and Wales with patchy rain and some fog.
Saturday:
Mostly dry in the north on Saturday with some sunshine. Turning wet in the far northwest, and generally breezy. Cloudier across England and Wales with patchy rain, and early fog.
Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:
Sunday and Monday will be rather cloudy with patchy rain and fog in places. However, some brighter spells developing. Wet and rather windy weather arriving from the west on Tuesday.
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