BRITS will be able to bask in some unseasonably warm weather towards the end of this month but will have to put up with thunderstorms in the coming days.
Temperatures at this time of year are generally around the 11C mark but the mercury could be almost double that, hitting 20C or more, by the tail end of September, the Met Office says.
Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said: "With southerly winds coming up from Europe, that'll generally bring a slightly warmer direction of air for us and would then allow those temperatures to climb a touch more.
"Obviously, it will be dependent on exactly what weather is currently across Europe at that stage as well because that's what we'll be tapping into.
"We may not see necessarily the same extreme heat building as this month but it will allow the temperatures to rise above average from the time of year.
"At this stage, already the real indication is that they'll be slightly increased and above average for certain during that warm spell, so that might allow us to push 20C, or 20C plus in some locations."
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He added: "A lot of people will have settled for October's weather being relatively unsettled and cold, so if this pulls off then people will just experience that little slight late dose of some warmth, even if it's not the scorching heat of this month."
Today though will be mostly a mixture of showers and sunny spells with winds easing in the north.
There will be a persistent band of cloud though bringing rain in central parts.
Overnight, that overall picture of dry, clear spells mixed with scattered showers will continue although a band of cloud will develop and move northwards.
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Spells of rain will continue into Friday and could be heavy across northern areas.
Most of England and Wales will remain largely dry and fine once the early morning mist has cleared up.
Temperatures will start to warm up in the south, the forecaster predicts.
The mercury will continue to rise in the south on Saturday with outbreaks of thunderstorms or longer spells of rain at times.
Further north it will remain cool.
Conditions will feel less humid by Monday.
Thundery conditions will continue into the new working week as a period of unsettled weather brings with it widespread rain or thundery showers, the latter especially for parts of England and Wales.
Temperatures should be around average for this time of year, the experts say, but some warm spells are likely at times.
Over the tail end of September, from the 28th, the experts predict there is an increased chance of some late season warm spells, with temperatures most likely to be above average.