Today is the final hot day for the southeast of England in this current hot spell, where temperatures of 33 or 34 Celsius are likely.  The high temperatures will trigger hit-and-miss thunderstorms later this afternoon, with a Met Office weather warning already in force.

Frank Saunders, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “Thundery showers are likely to develop in the east and southeast later this afternoon, with the risk increasing further into the evening.  The thunderstorms could lead to torrential downpours in places with up to 30mm of rainfall falling in an hour.  Lightning is quite likely, and for a few unlucky spots, large hail, flash flooding and strong gusty winds, all leading to difficult driving conditions.” The thundery showers will clear overnight before fresher air, already over Scotland and Northern Ireland, gradually replaces the hot air in the southeast. 

Saunders continued: “After weeks of predominantly high temperatures and very little rainfall for many parts of the country, high pressure is finally breaking down allowing a cold front to introduce cooler, fresher air from the Atlantic to all parts of the UK.  Temperatures will still often be in the low to mid-20s Celsius in eastern parts of England for the rest of this week, which although is above average for the time of year, will be notably cooler than recent weeks.  Elsewhere, temperatures in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and western England will be closer to average, the high teens being typical.”

Accompanying the cooler air is a mix of sunshine and showers for most, with some of these turning heavy and possibly thundery in Northern Ireland and Scotland towards the end of the week.  It’ll stay rather unsettled into the weekend, with spells of showery rain, stronger winds for some and temperatures around normal. 

But will the warm weather return?

The Met Office issues a three-monthly outlook each month, designed to help planners in business and government make long-term decisions based on different weather scenarios. 

The outlook for August, September and October indicates temperatures will be warmer than average.  However there have been reports in the media of the Met Office promising an “Indian Summer” and a "heatwave until October”.  It is important to remember that higher than average temperatures do not necessarily mean a “heatwave” and that it can still be warmer than average but cloudy and windy too.  The outlook gives no indication of how much sunshine we might receive – something that, in many people’s view, would make for a good late summer.  Our shorter-range seven-day forecasts provide a detailed view of the weather for the days ahead and can be found our forecast pages, by following us on Twitter and Facebook, or using our mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store.