A mini-heatwave will have a second wind this weekend in Britain, with some areas basking in sweltering 28C highs.
But not everywhere will be so lucky, with some parts of the nation enduring thunderstorms and a much fresher feel, the Met Office says.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said in his rundown for this week that a “waving weather front” would create “something of a cloudy and damp sandwich” for Britain in the coming days.
This metaphor is a description of the two-way divide the incoming jet stream will cause, with parts of northern England – including the outskirts of Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh enduring downpours.
Mr Deakin said: “A combination of the heat building and the jet stream pushing northwards may well trigger some more thunderstorms – a bit like last weekend with the heat coming from the south, we are expecting some big downpours.
“It won’t be quite as intense and the heat won’t be as high and the thunderstorms maybe not so violent – but if you didn’t see any last weekend these could still be potentially quite big downpours and potentially cause some disruption”.
“It is likely to be very warm in the south, but again not as hot as last weekend, but certainly temperatures will be in their high 20s in places.”
Weather maps show Kent, Sussex and Greater London may scoop the hottest temperatures on Saturday, September 16 – with a sweltering 27C being reached.
Following closely behind at 26C is the likes of Cambridgeshire, Hampshire and Berkshire. Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire could reach 25C while the Midlands starts to represent the easing of temperatures at 23C.
Nottinghamshire upwards will see no such heat, with maps giving 17C for the likes of Derbyshire, Southern and Northern Yorkshire, Cheshire and Lancashire.
Areas surrounding Newcastle could even see the mercury plunge to as low as 12C, while Scotland will follow closely behind at 10C.
In Wales thermometers wil range between 15C and 19C. Maps show a curving band of rain hitting much of Wales and the north-west by 6pm, with heavy downpours potentially centering on Cumbria.
Despite Saturday being a tale of two halves, it is actually Sunday where the rain looks to intensify.
By 9am on Sunday, torrential weather will strike much of Northern Ireland, southern Wales and the West Country. Maps indicate the west could be hardest hit during this period.
While the showers will disperse as the day goes on, illustrations show that such weather will actually reach areas such as Kent, indicating a potential thunderstorm to bring the heat crashing down.
Jo Farrow, a senior forecaster for Netweather, wrote in her blog: “The models diverge for Sunday. The Netwx MR shows clusters of showers pulsing up through Ireland which clip western Britain, even with thundery downpours for south western England and Wales.
“It shows more of an east to southeasterly flow but again with temperatures inland well into the 20s Celsius. It also shows higher temperatures for Northern Ireland and SW Scotland, up to 21C.
She said during this period the risk of thunderstorms remains and it will feel “quite close and muggy”.
But she cited the two hurricanes lurking in the Atlantic – Lee and Margot – creating an air of uncertainty over how next week’s picture will unfold.
