The sweltering heatwave will give way to heavy rain, thunderstorms and plunging temperatures this weekend.
Brits will wake up to temperatures as low as 13C on Saturday morning, in stark contrast to yesterday's scorching weather which reached a high of 31.2C at Kew Gardens.
Temperatures of 14C to 15C will be widely felt, and the mercury will struggle to get into the 20s with a high of 21C forecast in Norwich later in the day.
According to the Met Office, there is potential for showers across most of the country, with heavy downpours likely in the Midlands, Northern England and Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile thunderstorms could dump as much as 30-40mm of rain over parts of Scotland.
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A yellow weather warning has been issued, meaning flooding is possible.
Seven flood alerts are also in place in the Midlands, including in Warwickshire, the Black Country, South Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire.
Sunday is set to bring more rain, although showers are forecast to be less frequent with some sunny spells in the south.
However, the northwest could see heavy and persistent downpours, as well as more cool temperatures.
The respite from this week's heatwave is thanks to low pressure sweeping in, giving the weather a chillier feel.
It comes after the hottest temperature of the year so far - a scorching 33.3C - was recorded at Heathrow on Thursday.
The blazing sunshine led to chaos on British beaches, with Bournemouth Council forced to declare a major incident after 500,000 visitors descended on the Dorset town's seafront.
UK 5-day forecast
Today:
A little sunshine, but showers will affect many areas, heaviest and most prolonged in the north, with the odd thunderstorm. Light winds here but windy further south. Cooler for all.
Tonight:
Rather cloudy for many with further showers, these most frequent in north and west, and merging into longer spells of rain for Northern Ireland and western Scotland.
Sunday:
Heavy and persistent rain in parts of northwestern Britain. Sunny spells and scattered, blustery showers in the south. Windy for many with coastal gales in north. Much cooler again.
Outlook for Monday to Wednesday:
Locally heavy rain across parts of the north should ease through Monday. However it will remain unsettled with further rain or showers at times. Breezy at first and rather cool.
