Met Office daily weather: Widely sunny spells to end the week

Friday will bring dry and sunny conditions to much of central and southern Britain, with temperatures climbing well above average for the time of year. A build-up of high pressure, combined with strong sunshine and subsiding air, will lead to widespread warmth across southern areas. Maximum temperatures are expected to reach between 27°C and 29°C quite widely, with some locations in southern England potentially peaking at 30°C or 31°C.

Further north, conditions will remain largely dry and warm, although there will be more cloud, particularly along North Sea coasts. A few isolated showers are possible across parts of Scotland, and a weak cold front edging southwards will bring a slightly cooler feel to the far north. Eastern Scotland will be notably cooler, with highs around 20°C to 21°C, and locally up to 23°C in central England.

Overnight into Saturday, most areas will remain dry. The clearest skies are expected in western parts of the UK, while low cloud is likely to increase across eastern and southeastern areas. This may lead to a rather overcast start to Saturday in some locations, particularly in the east.

Outlook for Saturday

Saturday will begin with areas of low cloud across central and eastern parts of the UK, along with some fog patches in parts of Northern Ireland. These are expected to lift and thin through the morning, allowing sunny spells to develop quite widely. However, the Northern Isles are likely to remain under persistent low cloud throughout the day.

Winds will be light to moderate for most, although a strong and gusty easterly breeze is forecast across southwestern areas. This may bring a fresher feel to parts of Devon and Cornwall, despite the sunshine.

Temperatures will again be very warm or hot in the west, with highs around 30°C expected in southwest England, as well as southern and western Wales. In contrast, areas affected by onshore breezes or persistent cloud will see temperatures closer to seasonal norms.

Met Office presenter and meteorologist, Aidan McGivern, said: “We start off Friday with areas of cloud especially across these northern and eastern areas of the UK. The cloud tending to uh push into parts of the east of England for a time. Elsewhere across the country, it's sunny spells and the heat is beginning to build once again. It's a hotter day across southern parts of the country. Cooler further north and northeast, especially where we've got that low cloud rolling in for the North Sea. But certainly high 20s, perhaps even 30°C or 31°C across some southern and southeastern parts of England, for example.

“Temperatures closer to the low 20s across the north and more like the mid to high teens where we've got the cloudier areas and that cloud tending to creep back into the east on Friday night. And I think that cloud will be a notable aspect of the forecast heading into the weekend because we've got high pressure reestablishing itself, but sitting just to the north and northwest of the UK.

“We've got an easterly air flow and quite a brisk breeze actually on Saturday across parts of Wales and the Southwest and those areas of low cloud affecting eastern parts. In between, still some warmth, still some sunshine and it's going to be mostly dry through the weekend for the vast majority.”