Britain is about to turn hotter than the French Riviera as the sun returns for a week-long Indian Summer.
Storms will give way to a plume of warm air from the Continent dragged in by the remains of Hurricane Sam.
Temperatures in parts of the country could hit 21C tomorrow as high pressure builds across Europe into the UK.
Much of Britain will bask in a balmy blast of sunshine and blue skies although parts of the northwest will stay wet and windy.
Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services, said: "The warmer weather will kick in from mid-week onwards, and we could see 21C in parts of the country by Thursday.
"High pressure building from the Continent will bring a change from the wetter, windier weather to drier, sunnier conditions.
"As we are now in October, we can call this an Indian Summer, and it is safe to say we are in for some balmy weather in the fallout from Hurricane Sam."
North-east Scotland and England will be warmer than southern Britain with highs of around 21C on Thursday.
London and the southeast could creep towards the 20C mark with above-average temperatures forecast nationwide.
Sam weakened from a category-4 hurricane to a strong storm as it charged across the Atlantic at the weekend.
It will bump into the jet stream as it approaches Europe and veer towards Iceland helping to drive the fine weather.
Mr Dale said: "The remains of Hurricane Sam will veer towards Iceland as it moves across the Atlantic, this will mean it will miss the UK but pull warm air in from the south.
"It will also drive this region of high pressure across Britain, the combination of the two will bring the better weather.
"This could last through the week or possibly longer into the mid-month when we expect to see a return to something more usual for the time of year."
Exacta Weather forecaster James Madden said: "In between the stormier spells some quite mild weather will develop.
"It could turn out to be a warmer than average month overall."
North-western regions may catch Sam's stormier sting in the tail while the rest of the country bakes.
Parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland are battening the hatches for more wind and rain ahead of the weekend.
A Met Office spokesman said: "Rain, heavy and persistent at times, will affect parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
"It will be dry elsewhere with variable cloud, sunny spells and overnight fog patches. It will be warmer than of late."
