The last few days have seen a wide contrast in temperatures across the country with parts of the north and west only seeing maximums in the high teens at best whilst towards the southeast of England it has been hot with highs into the mid-thirties. The next few days don't see a lot of change other than the risk of thunderstorms breaking out will be on the rise.

For this morning and whilst many places will be starting off on a dry and bright note with some sunny spells, there are some areas of mist and low cloud to clear, especially across central and north-eastern regions. The sunshine will burn these away this morning to leave many places with a dry and fine day with some very warm sunshine, the best of the sunshine coming across northwest Scotland along with eastern and south-eastern parts of England. However, for parts of Wales and northwest England showers are breaking out and these will continue to develop, turning heavy and thundery at times today with the risk of torrential downpours, hail and frequent lightning. The risk of a thundery shower elsewhere will be much smaller, but cannot be ruled out altogether. Maximum temperatures today will range from 17°C to 22°C in the north: 24°C to 29°C across central regions and 33°C to 36°C towards the south and southeast of England.

The risk of scattered heavy showers and thunderstorms continues into tonight with those that do develop pushing their way northwards, affecting parts of Scotland later. It will be another warm and muggy night, especially in the south, with some mist and low cloud forming in places by the morning. This takes us into a very similar day tomorrow with hot sunshine towards the south and east but further scattered thunderstorms are likely to break out.

METEOROLOGIST: BARBER

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