UK weather forecast: Rain and gales set to end UK’s record-breaking spring warm spell, Met Office predicts
The UK’s two days of warm spring weather this week will end with rain and storms arriving in time for the weekend.
England experienced one of the hottest April days in history on Wednesday, when temperatures of 26.6C (79.9F) were recorded in Kew Gardens, south-west London.
The Met Office said it was the hottest day of 2026 so far and was also the second hottest day recorded in the first half of April.
The warmest ever April 7 was recorded on Tuesday, reaching 24.8C at Mona on the Welsh island of Anglesey.
It was also warmer than some holiday hot spots like Ibiza and Rome.
But forecasters say cool winds blowing from the west will eliminate the heat.
Parts of south-east England are expected to reach high temperatures of 22 degrees on Thursday, but in other areas temperatures are expected to return to around or even below seasonal normals of 10-14 degrees.
According to forecaster Ben Rich, the next few days will see rain and storms in many areas and snowfall in the highest parts of Scotland.
Westerly winds will bring cooler air from the Atlantic and showers will arrive from the west; The hills and mountains in Scotland can feel wintry, potentially full of hail and thunder.
Much of the east and south-east of England will remain dry.
Some regions, particularly Scotland and Northern Ireland, will drop below freezing on Thursday night.
It will start to be cold in some regions on Friday morning.
Mr Rich said heavy rain would fall in Northern Ireland on Friday afternoon and winds of 50-70mph would hit some coasts of Northern Ireland and western Scotland.
There may be storms in some northern and western parts over the weekend, while most areas will experience occasional rain, but in the meantime there will be long, dry and bright spells, particularly across the south and east of the UK.
Mr Rich said this week’s temperatures were unusual, in some cases up to 10C (18F) above the seasonal average, thanks to southerly winds from continental Europe.
He added that climate change may also have played a role, making already warm weather even hotter than it would have been in the pre-industrial world.
After a cool start to next week, temperatures are expected to rise slightly.
