Thundery downpours for the weekend ahead before temperatures spike to 26°C

Cloudy, showery conditions with the risk of thunderstorms are forecast for Saturday and Sunday before a new ridge of high pressure arrives on Monday causing temperatures to reach 26°C in some parts of the country across next week.

After weeks of hot, dry weather, a succession of heatwaves and the introduction of hosepipe bans, cooler, wetter conditions have set in this week, just as the schools break up for the summer.

The Met Office said Saturday will be “cloudy with patchy rain and drizzle continuing to move southeast across England and Wales, scattered showers breaking out in the east, these locally heavy and possibly thundery later”.

Clare Nasir, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “It could be a bit of a cloudy day across some parts of England and Wales, but brightening skies coming in from the west.

“Showers always across more northern and western areas of Scotland, extending further east, they’ll be fairly scattered and some developing across Northern Ireland as well as northern England.

“Eastern England seeing some sharp showers through the afternoon, a similar situation across Scotland.

“One or two could actually turn heavy with the risk of thunder, but some fine weather to end the day across more western and south western areas.”

Temperatures on Saturday are expected to be in the low to mid twenties Celsius 23-25°C in the South East, 22°C in the South West and East Anglia and a maximum of 20°C in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Temperatures will be in the low to mid twenties Celsius on Saturday (Photo: Met Office)

Overnight Saturday, cloud and rain will “ramp up” as a weather front heads to Scotland from the north west and during Sunday morning, showers will edge southwards.

Nasir said showers will “file in” across Northern Ireland, while for England and Wales, cloudy conditions will build through the middle part of the day with some light showers and “the chance of a heavier shower with the risk of thunder” in eastern counties.

“All in all, a bit of a mixed bag through the weekend but it will feel warm, certainly where you catch some sunshine”, she added.

The Met Office says clouds and rain are likely to “ramp up” overnight Saturday to Sunday (Photo: Gary Yeowell/Getty)

Sunday will be a breezier day than Saturday with temperatures reaching highs of 20°C in the north, Scotland and Northern Ireland and a maximum of 23/24°C in the South and South East of England.

Sunday’s temperatures will be slightly lower than Saturday’s (Photo: Met Office)

There is some good news for those beginning their summer holidays as a ridge of high pressure will extend from the south west on Sunday night bringing warmer and sunnier conditions for Monday and a rise in temperatures.

London could see a maximum of 26°C by the start of the week, while Cardiff and Edinburgh will hover around 21°C and Belfast is 20°C.