Britain's fine and dry weather could soon come to an abrupt halt, with showers threatening a weekend washout.
The mini April heat-wave peaked at 25C yesterday and the UK is likely to remain warm and sunny on Friday before the weather takes a very British downward turn.
BBC forecaster Louise Lear said "short, sharp showers" are likely overnight into Saturday before more rain is predicted through Sunday, thanks to an area of low pressure.
She said the showers will start in the north and "are likely to drift their way southwards" with the country continuing to get cooler into next week.
Met Office weather maps show temperatures in the mid teens on Monday, but will feel much cooler with winds gusts of almost 30mph.
A far cry from the scorching heat of the last week - though it will help to average out some of the rainfall the land has been lacking so far this month.
According to Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge, at the start of the week the UK had already seen 81 per cent of its average sunshine for April, but just 17 per cent of its rain.
While the Met Office's long range forecast predicts a risk of further showers on Tuesday, as well as plenty of cloud and "perhaps some heavier downpours of rain" and breeze.
Though this month has been sitting more than 2C above the average for April, though despite bookies slashing the odds it appears unlikely the 26C high on April recorded in Treknow, Cornwall, will be beaten before the summer.
The hottest ever April day was April 16, 1949 which saw parts of Britain reach 29.4C.
The Environment Agency has put eight flood alerts in place for Friday.
UK 5 day weather forecast
Today:
Another fine, warm and dry day for most with some long sunny spells. Cloudier for some north and east coasts of Scotland, cooler here and along North Sea coasts. The chance of the odd shower in Wales.
Tonight:
Dry for most but becoming increasingly cloudy for eastern parts with some fog patches possible. A little frost possible in the north as well.
Saturday:
Another fine day for most with low cloud and fog in eastern parts clearing back to the coasts during the morning. A few showers likely to develop over Wales.
Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:
Dry and bright periods, though some coastal fog patches and also some showers for many areas. Warm in the south, cooler in the north.
