The hot temperatures are here to stay, but forecasters have warned people to be prepared for heavy rain and thunder as Storm Ernesto hits this weekend.
The remnants of the tropical storm are expected to be officially classified as a “post-tropical cyclone” by the time they reach the UK, after coming across the Atlantic at high speed, the Met Office said on Friday.
Ernesto is expected to hit the west coast of Ireland on Saturday night, moving across Scotland and northern England as Sunday morning approaches.
Downpours are expected to start overnight, continuing until Sunday, and the National Hurricane Center currently predicts wind speeds could reach 40mph.
Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge told HuffPost UK: “Ernesto is moving quickly towards the UK, but it will be degrading as the sea-surface temperatures are only 21°C and cannot support a tropical storm and it will transition to a fairly low-key mid-latitude low-pressure system.
“This system will run towards Ireland and the UK, bringing some rain and stronger winds. The impacts from Ernesto will be minimal.”
The Met Office’s UK forecast states that “the north will be windy, with patchy rain” tomorrow, but “further south, winds will be much lighter, with a fair amount of warm sunshine, though patchy rain may affect western hills”. They do not currently have any weather warnings in place.
Temperatures across the UK and Ireland are expected to remain in the low-20s, though they will drop to around 17C in Scotland.
The heat will then return in the middle of next week, with temperatures creeping back into the mid-20s in the south and midlands. The north east and Scotland will stay at around 19C.
The Met Office forecast for next Thursday reads: “There will probably be a good deal of dry, bright or sunny weather, especially in the south, while the far west and northwest will have some thicker cloud and rain at times.”
Last week, the remnants of Storm Debby caused severe rain in the south, which prompted one group of inventive Londoners to create a bridge over a waterlogged street.
So far in 2018, a number of unexpected weather events have caused disruption in the UK, the biggest being the “beast from the east”, which brought numerous transport systems to a standstill as temperatures plunged.