Summer came to a temporary halt for parts of Britain today as Londoners ran for cover from heavy rain and punters on the River Cam sheltered under umbrellas.
Showers affected much of eastern England this afternoon but conditions remained humid with highs of 24C (75F) – and sunshine will return in the early evening.
And it will feel fresher tonight with minimum temperatures of 14C (57F) in the East giving a more comfortable sleep compared to last night’s low of 18C (64F).
While the South East should be dry tonight, further showers could fall in the West and North with an area of more persistent rain for northern Scotland by dawn.
This rain will turn more showery through tomorrow morning, with sunny spells and showers featuring elsewhere in the UK but eastern areas staying mostly dry.
A band of cloud and rain will then move eastwards across the country on Thursday, but this will likely clear to sunshine and showers for most places by Friday.
Highs of between 24C (75F) and 25C (77F) are expected in the South for the next three days, while the North will get to 22C (72F) and Scotland 20C (68F).
Conditions could be showery this weekend – and forecasters said the jet stream will strengthen across Britain, steering low pressure towards the country and bringing stronger winds.
It comes after the hottest day of 2024 so far last Tuesday when 32.0C (89.6F) was recorded at both Kew Gardens and Heathrow Airport in London.
The Met Office said a warm snap is deemed a heatwave if a location records at least three consecutive days with maximum temperatures exceeding a designated value.
This is 25C (77F) for most of the UK – rising to 28C (82F) in London and its surrounding area, where temperatures are typically higher.
The top temperature yesterday was 27.4C (81.3F) at Lossiemouth near Inverness.
And the highest temperatures of last weekend were both recorded at Wisley in Surrey – 24.3C (75.7F) on Sunday and 26.3C (79.3F) on Saturday.
Last week, Friday got to 28.3C (82.9F) in Hull. That followed three consecutive days of 30C+ (86F+) temperatures with 30.2C (86.4F) also at Wisley last Thursday, and 31.1C (88.0F) at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire last Wednesday which followed the 32.0C (89.6F) in London on Tuesday.
The place in the UK that saw the longest run of hot weather last week was East Malling in Kent where the heatwave lasted at least five days in a row between Sunday, July 28 and last Thursday.
The highest temperature in the UK last year was 33.5C (92.3F) at Faversham in Kent on September 10.