Temperatures from Friday and into the weekend will be in the mid-to-high 20s for many, according to the Met Office. In the far northwest, however, it will remain cloudy and cooler with occasional rain.
The situation will remain the same until early next week, meaning further dry and sunny weather and temperatures turning higher during Monday and Tuesday, with a likely peak on Tuesday with temperatures possibly in the low 30s in part of England and Wales, and high 20s elsewhere .
Louise Lear of BBC Weather said: “Over the next few days, it looks like we’re going to see more sunshine and more heat.
“Maybe next week it will be a little too hot for some of you. We start Thursday in another cloudy, gray tone.
“The early morning sun in the east of Scotland and eventually the cloud will melt away and the sunshine will begin to build up.
“The only exception is a bit more cloud in the north west of Scotland, with the highest temperatures on Thursday afternoon recording 25C.”
For an official Met Office heat wave, specific thresholds, based on the region, must be met for three days.
Areas with lower heat wave thresholds, particularly South West England and South Wales, are more likely to meet the heat wave criteria as of Thursday.
Elsewhere with the higher thresholds, the chance of an official heat wave is more marginal, although they could also reach their heat wave threshold from Sunday.
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