It's been a pleasant first half of August for much of Britain with plenty of sunshine, mostly settled weather and a mini-heatwave bringing the hottest day in two years.
But the Met Office has warned that a period of cooler and mixed weather is now on the way for many areas with a combination of sun, drizzle, fog and showers.
A strong westerly jet stream is bringing cooler air from the Atlantic across the UK with areas of rain also expected to cross the country over the next few days.
The South East should hang onto the best conditions with more sunny spells after some showers today and highs of 25C (77F) every day for the rest of this week.
But the North West will see downpours this evening, becoming more widespread tomorrow - while forecasters added that a 'plume of rain' moving towards western parts of Scotland could bring some high rainfall totals, especially on high ground.
Holidaymakers enjoy a day out at the beach in Bournemouth todaydespite cloudy conditions
A strong westerly jet stream - marked in pink - brings cooler air from the Atlantic across the UK
Southern and eastern parts of England will remain largely dry and warm, but it could be a particularly windy day for August quite widely.
Top UK temperatures each day this August
- Aug 1: 30.2C (86.4F) Wisley
- Aug 2: 28.3C (82.9F) Hull
- Aug 3: 26.3C (79.3F) Wisley
- Aug 4: 24.3C (75.7F) Wisley
- Aug 5: 27.4C (81.3F) Lossiemouth
- Aug 6: 26.4C (79.5F) Neatishead
- Aug 7: 23.9C (75.0F) Manston
- Aug 8: 24.8C (76.6F) Neatishead
- Aug 9: 25.5C (77.9F) Manston
- Aug 10: 26.3C (79.3F) Pershore
- Aug 11: 29.8C (85.6F) Wisley
- Aug 12: 34.8C (94.6F) Cambridge
- Aug 13: 29.2C (84.6F) Tibenham
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A mostly dry and clear weekend is expected, but temperatures are not likely to be as high as earlier in the week.
Met Office meteorologistLiam Eslick said: 'Temperatures on Wednesday will probably not be as warm as what we've had on Tuesday, probably seeing maximums of around 24C (75F) or 25C (77F) towards the South East.
'There will be sunshine towards the western half of the UK on Wednesday, so it will still feel rather pleasant, getting up towards those low 20Cs (low 70Fs).
'Into Thursday we do have a second plume of rain moving in towards the North West of Scotland which can bring some pretty strong winds and pretty heavy rain.
'It's not anything to be concerned about for now, it's just a watchpoint.
'The South East will probably be the driest part of the country but those temperatures will slowly start to come down towards what we would expect for mid-August, around 22C (72F) or 23C (73F).'
Mr Eslick said there was good news for those with weekend plans, as sunny weather is likely to return.
'It will be a mostly dry picture for many people as we go in towards the weekend, most places will see a pretty dry picture and will start to see some sunnier spells,' he said.
The beach at Weymouth in Dorset is busy with holidaymakers and sunbathersyesterday
People relax on the beach during hot weather at Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex yesterday
A group of people observe pedalo riders by the Serpentine in London's Hyde Parkyesterday
A yellow heat health alert for the East and West Midlands, East of England, South East, South West, North West and London, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), was due to expire at 9am today.
Hottest days of the year in UK over past decade
- 2024 (so far): 34.7C (94.6F) on August 12 in Cambridge
- 2023: 33.5C (92.3F) on September 10 in Faversham, Kent
- 2022: 40.3C (104.5F) on July 19 in Coningsby, Lincolnshire
- 2021: 32.2C (90.0F) on July 20 in London (Heathrow)
- 2020: 37.8C (100.0F) on July 31 in London (Heathrow)
- 2019: 38.7C (101.7F) on July 25 in Cambridge
- 2018: 35.6C (96.1F) on July 27 in Felsham, Suffolk
- 2017: 34.5C (94.1F) on June 21 in London (Heathrow)
- 2016: 34.4C (93.9F) on September 13 in Faversham, Kent
- 2015: 36.7C (98.1F) on July 1 in London (Heathrow)
- 2014: 32.3C (90.1F) on July 18 in Gravesend, Kent
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The temperature reached 34.8C (94.6F) in Cambridge on Monday, marking 2024's hottest day yet, after the previous record of 32.0C (89.6F) in London on July 30.
The mercury has now hit at least 29C (84F) for three days in a row in Britain – with highs of 29.8C (85.6F) at Wisley in Surrey on Sunday and 29.2C (84.6F) at Tibenham in Norfolk yesterday, either side of Monday.
Met Office forecaster Tom Morgan added that there was no 'strong signal for anything hot returning for the rest of August' and it was unlikely we would see any more days getting as hot as 34.8C this month.
He said the changeable weather was due to the jet stream passing over Scotland, 'making the weather particularly changeable in northern parts.'
In addition, Mr Morgan said that in the South, while warmer and less changeable, 'we'll probably see a continuation of the changeable weather through the weekend into next week as well.'
The lowest maximum daily temperature so far in August has been 23.9C (75.0F) at Manston in Kent on August 7.
Out of the 13 days of August so far, four days have been above 29C (84F) and six days above 27C (81F).
Before Monday, the only other day this month to have got to at least 30C (86F) was August 1, when Wisley reached 30.2C (86.4F).
Monday was the hottest UK day since August 13, 2022 - having exceeded last year's high which was 33.5C (92.3F) at Faversham in Kent on September 10, 2023.
And it was just the 11th year since 1961 that temperatures as high as 34.8C have been recorded. Eight of those years have been since 2000 and six in the last decade.
