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Met Office daily weather: Temperatures on the rise after cooler start to the week

The UK continues to experience warm and humid weather, with a mix of sunshine, showers and the potential for thunderstorms

Thursday will bring a contrast in conditions across the country. Cloud and outbreaks of rain will affect northern and western areas, with some heavy and possibly thundery rain particularly across parts of Northern Ireland. Elsewhere, it will be mostly dry and bright, although scattered afternoon showers are likely to develop across parts of east Wales, central and northern England. Some of these may turn heavy and thundery. Two yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms have been issued for parts of Northern Ireland from 11am to 8pm and across much of England from 9pm Friday until 6pm Saturday. 

It will be breezy in the west and north, while the southeast will remain very warm and humid under brighter skies. Temperatures will peak at 27-29°C in parts of central England, with 25-27°C possible in sheltered areas of eastern and northern Scotland. Northern England can expect highs of 24-26°C, while Northern Ireland and Wales will see temperatures between 22-24°C, although southeast Wales may reach 26°C.

Overnight, it will remain mostly cloudy in the west and north with occasional outbreaks of rain, some of which may be heavy. Central and eastern areas will stay largely dry with some clear spells, although showers, potentially heavy with a risk of thunderstorms, may develop through the early hours of Friday. It will be a warm and muggy night for many.

Outlook for Friday

Friday will start warm and humid across much of the UK. Cloud and rain or showers will gradually move eastwards, with some brighter spells developing, particularly in the northwest. There is a chance of heavy afternoon showers and thunderstorms affecting northeast Wales, central and northern England, and eastern Scotland. Later in the day, there is also a risk of thunderstorms moving into southern England.

Temperatures will remain warm or very warm in the east and southeast, with highs reaching 28-29°C in places. Further west, temperatures will be closer to average. Winds will be moderate to fresh in the northwest, but light elsewhere.

Met Office presenter and meteorologist, Alex Burkill, said: “On Thursday, Eastern areas will have the best of the sunshine, but it is going to turn increasingly cloudy from the west. Further west, there will be a fair bit of cloud on offer and some outbreaks of rain. And these outbreaks of rain could be quite intense at times. Some heavy thundery downpours are quite possible.

“Temperature-wise, it's looking even hotter than today across some parts towards the east and southeast. 28°C, 29°C not out of the question. And yes, most places seeing temperatures a degree or so up. So even though there's a bit more cloud around, it may feel a bit warmer and a bit more humid in some places, too.

“Now, taking a closer look at those thunderstorms across parts of West and Northern Ireland. This is where they're most likely to be intense and bring the greatest cause of concern. We do have a warning out. That's because we could see 10 to 20 millimetres in just an hour or so and perhaps 30 to 40 millimetres in just a few hours. That's enough to cause some flash flooding. If you do get any torrential downpours and if you get showers following one after the other, that's when the greatest cause of concern is.

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“It's not just the rain though. It's the frequent lightning, the risk of some hail, and perhaps even some blustery winds mixed in with these intense showers that we need to watch out for. It's also not just in the warning area where we could see the thundery downpours, also across some parts of western Scotland. Some thundery bursts are quite likely as we go through the day as well.

“Later on, as we go through the end of the week and into the weekend it's looking fairly unsettled. South, southeastern and eastern parts of the country likely to stay mostly dry on Friday, but temperatures continuing to rise. So pretty hot and humid across some parts of the southeast in particular.”

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