UK weather: Temperatures to soar in second half of week after mixed spell
Temperatures will soar into the mid-30s later this week after several days of mixed weather, the Met Office has said.
The national weather service predicts that the south-east could experience highs of 36C on Friday, caused by the arrival of warm air from the continent.
However, conditions will be much cooler at the start of the week, with lots of rain scheduled to fall in the north-west of the UK.
Marco Petagna, a meteorologist at the Met Office, told The Independent that there will be a "mixture of sunshine and showers" across the UK on Monday and Tuesday.
The north and northwest will see showers on Monday morning, before the rain becomes "more focused" in central and eastern England by the afternoon.
Temperatures will reach 18C in the north and 24C in the south east, a "north-south split" which will continue on Tuesday.
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Speaking of the outlook for Tuesday, Mr Petagna said: "Wet and windy weather continuing across Scotland and Northern Ireland, patchy rain into north-west England and to the north and west of Wales. But central and southern England and most of Wales are fine."
The worst showers will occur in the north-west of the UK between Tuesday and Wednesday, with an estimated 80-100 mm of rain likely to fall there over a 36-hour period. The figure is "getting on for a month's worth of rain", according to Mr Petagna, who added that the Met Office is likely to issue a rain warning ahead of the heavy showers.
The weather will then become drier and warmer in the second half of the week, with temperatures predicted to hit 32C on Thursday and 36C on Friday in some areas.
Although it is uncertain how long the good weather will last before cooler air pushes in from the Atlantic, temperatures may continue to hover above 30C on Saturday.
The forecast for more hot weather comes after temperatures peaked at 37.8C at Heathrow Airport on Friday, making it the third hottest day ever recorded in the UK.
