Parts of southern England are set to bask in warmth this weekend, with thermometers expected to hit 27C on Sunday in some areas.
Before that balmy peak, today is already bringing milder conditions to the south-east, with Kent and East Sussex forecast to reach 23C according to WXCharts data.
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Four additional counties, Greater London, Surrey, West Sussex, and Hampshire, should see readings between 21C and 22C.
Temperatures taper off further north and west, with East Anglia sitting at 19C to 20C and the Midlands and south-west ranging from 17C to 20C.
Scotland’s northern reaches will be coolest, managing only 10C to 17C, while Wales and Northern Ireland hover between 15C and 17C.
Yet the pleasant conditions in the south-east tell only half the story, as much of the country faces a soggy Friday.
Northwest Scotland is bearing the worst of it, with rainfall reaching up to 7mm per hour, stretching from the western coast across to Edinburgh but leaving the eastern seaboard largely dry.
Northern Ireland is blanketed by rain, while Wales is escaping with only scattered showers in its north-western corner.
Across northern England, wet weather is sweeping through Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Cumbria, and several Yorkshire counties.
The Met Office confirmed that rain would clear the south-east during the morning, leaving a predominantly dry day with bright intervals, though blustery showers would persist across northern regions before easing later, accompanied by strong winds.
Saturday promises a welcome reprieve, with dry skies and sunny spells expected across the country.
That respite will prove short-lived, however, as Sunday’s forecast brings a sharp deterioration for those in the north, where heavy rain and powerful winds are set to move in.
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Southern parts of the UK should remain comparatively sheltered from the worst of Sunday’s conditions, staying drier throughout the day.
By Monday, brighter skies are expected to return, though showers will continue to punctuate the day, while temperatures are forecast to remain close to the seasonal average.
The pattern reflects a tug of war between Atlantic weather systems pushing in from the north-west and more settled conditions clinging on across the south, a dynamic that looks set to intensify in the weeks ahead.
Low pressure systems rolling in off the Atlantic continue to dominate conditions across the far north of the UK, with northern and western Scotland most exposed to their effects.
Further south, however, high pressure is acting as a barrier, weakening these frontal systems before they can reach southern England and Wales.
That blocking pattern has a significant downside: drought conditions persist across the southern half of the country, with hosepipe bans still in force.
The contrast between a parched south and a rain-lashed north underscores the split personality of British weather this September, as two competing pressure systems carve the country in two.
For those in the south hoping the weekend warmth might bring some much-needed rainfall, the outlook offers little encouragement.
The longer-term picture carries a more ominous tone, with Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle has called on the public to stockpile essential supplies in preparation for extreme weather events.
The Met Office is forecasting an El Niño event that could exceed 3C above the long-term Pacific average, potentially making it “the largest since the 19th century.”
Dame Angela told The Guardian: “We’re about to experience probably the largest El Nino that has ever been seen, and that will lead to drier summers, wetter winters, with more extreme storms in this country.”
She urged households to keep emergency food reserves to sustain themselves before help arrives.
Professor Bill McGuire of University College London warned that forecasts “suggest that the world is in for one hell of a ride,” describing the heat accumulating in the eastern Pacific as “unprecedented.”
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