The glorious weather we’ve all been enjoying these last few days will soon come to an abrupt end, with the Met Office warning of thunderstorms.
Those out making the most of the mini-heatwave in London yesterday will have enjoyed the hottest day of the year so far, with the mercury hitting 31.9C in St James’ Park.
Roads in and out of seaside favourites Brighton and Bournemouth were also clogged up by daytrippers flocking to the beach.
But as they say, all good things must come to an end, and forecasters have warned that after today we might have to wait ‘at least a week or so’ to see any more balmy weather.
Clouds will return on Saturday and higher temperatures will be restricted to the east and south east of England, which could still see 28C to 29C.
Heavy rain and bursts of thunder are forecast to hit Wales and south-west England on Saturday, and thunderstorms may develop in the East and South East.
Sunday will be fresher, brighter, drier, and will mainly stay around the low 20Cs, which is the July average.
Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: ‘On Saturday we will see a breakdown in the weather, so we are going to see a change with heavy rain in the west.
‘For South East England, we could see a few thunderstorms, but I think they’re probably going to be fairly isolated.
‘We will see a change, though, on Saturday night, with rain sweeping eastwards and then fresher conditions for Sunday.’
By Monday, the weather will be changeable but the week ahead will largely be dry.
Mr Morgan said temperatures could rise again ‘right at the end of July’.
He said it is too early to tell if the mercury will top Friday’s reading, but ‘I certainly wouldn’t rule out a higher temperature in August or even later this month’.
There will be ‘occasional very warm or hot spells’ in August but there is ‘no strong signal’ that high temperatures will be prolonged or widespread across the UK, he added.
East and south-east England have already seen ‘almost double’ the rainfall expected for the whole of July, Mr Morgan said.
‘I think that’s why a lot of people have welcomed the last couple of days, but Scotland and Northern Ireland have not see the high temperatures that the rest of the UK have seen – they’re still waiting if they do like hot weather.’
The AA recommended that road users travelling in the heat put a sun shield over the back windows, have iced water in the car, try to leave their vehicles in the shade and use a windscreen shade when parked.
On Thursday, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) urged employees to protect themselves from ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
It suggested employers conduct a risk assessment for ‘potential UV hazards’, encourage breaks, and that staff wear clothing such as wide-brimmed hats to protect them from the Sun.
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