Britain's long-awaited heatwave could peak today with a 27C scorcher as worrying weather fronts move in.
The Bank Holiday weekend brought a sizzling few days of sun, with the UK hitting the hottest temperatures of the year so far yesterday as the mercury topped 25C.
And while today - the first day of meteorological summer - could see things get even hotter, forecasters are warning the good weather may not last much longer.
BBC meteorologist Louise Lear said there is "a lot of uncertainty" with the potential for rain as early as tomorrow before temperatures take a dive.
She said: "Tuesday may well be the peak of the heat, with some weather fronts threatening from the south-east on Wednesday.
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"A lot of uncertainty when those fronts will arrive and how much rain they will bring. Things will dip down to high-teens after that rain clears."
In the meantime, today's glorious sunshine and 27C heat is set to beat holiday favourite the Algarve, with the warmest temperatures expected in the Midlands, western England, north and west Wales and western Scotland.
A maximum temperature of 25.1C was recorded at Kinlochewe in the Scottish Highlands yesterday as Brits took full advantage of newly restored freedoms following the latest lifting of lockdown restrictions.
Faro in Portugal is expected to see just 20C, St Tropez in France 22C and Rome 23C, in comparison.
The previous UK record for the year came on March 30 when Kew Gardens in west London recorded 24.5C.
And despite the potential for bleak weather fronts, some forecasters predict Wednesday could actually get even higher with 28C.
Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: "Lots of fine, sunny weather around - if anything, temperatures up a degree or so on Monday."
While agreeing unsettled conditions are in the offing in the days to come, initially feeding north and eastwards across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, he said 28C is possible tomorrow in the Midlands and East Anglia.
But by Thursday and Friday there is continued risk of thundery showers across the east and south-east of England, with next weekend feeling much milder.
"There will be a bit more cloud around to end the week, with temperatures coming back down to average, the high teens for most," Mr Petagna said.
Despite the fine weather over the weekend, multiple local authorities warned people about gatherings amid fears a full relaxation of lockdown rules, currently penciled in for June 21, could be delayed due to the spread of the Indian variant.
Steven Keates, a Met Office spokesman, told the Daily Mail: "It was the warmest day of the year and the warmest day of spring, on the last day of the meteorological spring."
