Met Office daily weather: Rising temperatures bring continued risk of thunderstorms

The UK is set to experience another spell of very warm to hot weather as we move into the weekend, with Friday and Saturday bringing a mix of sunshine, heat, and an increasing risk of thunderstorms

Friday will be mostly dry across much of the country, with sunny spells developing through the day. However, a fair amount of medium to high-level cloud is expected at times, particularly across western areas. Low cloud may also arrive into the far southwest later in the day. While most places will remain dry, there is a chance of isolated showers or thunderstorms moving northwards across western parts, and a few heavier showers may develop over northern Scotland during the afternoon.

Winds will be fresh along some western coasts, helping to moderate temperatures slightly in these areas. Elsewhere, it will be very warm or hot, with temperatures peaking at around 32°C in the warmest spots. Conditions will be nearer normal along windward coasts where the breeze will keep things a little cooler.

Friday night will remain very warm, with variable cloud and clear spells. There is a continued chance of showers or isolated thunderstorms moving north into the far southwest. Low cloud and coastal fog may affect parts of the west and north overnight.

READ MORE: Met Office 10-Day Trend: Temperatures to peak this weekend

Outlook for Saturday

Saturday will begin largely dry with sunny or clear spells, but the risk of showers and thunderstorms will increase as the day progresses. Northern and western areas are most at risk during the day, with a growing threat of more organised and potentially severe thunderstorms developing later in the afternoon and into the evening. These are most likely to affect north Wales, the north Midlands, northern England, and southern to southeastern Scotland.

Temperatures will again be very warm or hot, with highs reaching up to 34°C in parts of eastern England. Western areas may feel particularly uncomfortable due to higher humidity levels, while cloudier skies in the north and along windward coasts will keep temperatures closer to average.

Met Office presenter and meteorologist, Alex Deakin, said: “A warm start to a hot day on Friday. There will be more clouds higher up in the sky tomorrow, so the sunshine a little hazier for most of England and Wales and again we could just spark one or two isolated thundery showers parts of Wales southwest England late in the day. Across parts of northern Scotland the possibility of a storm being created here too but they'll be very isolated.

"The vast majority having another dry and sunny day and another hot one, temperatures likely to get up more over 30°C, perhaps 31°C perhaps 32°C, depends exactly on how much of that higher cloud we see. But a hotter day for Scotland and Northern Ireland noticeably as well and the heat likely to peak on Saturday, but Friday evening is going to be very warm indeed again a difficult night for sleeping, still one or two of those showers and perhaps thunderstorms across northern Scotland rumbling on into the evening.

“Cloud will be thickening in the southwest again as well as that low pressure just edging a little bit closer, pushing the high pressure a little further away between the two the winds wafting up from the south, that's why the heat is continuing to build into Saturday. But through the weekend the low-pressure winds out and we could well spark further thunderstorms on Saturday some big ones are possible.”

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