UK weather: Temperatures soar to 81F today and tomorrow

Summer will make a welcome return to parts of Britain today as temperatures reach their highest since mid-July.

The mercury could peak at 81F (27C) in South East England today, with some places remaining as warm tomorrow – with the glimpse of summer thanks to the remains of Hurricane Gert which have brought hot air up to England.

Parts of East Anglia will enjoy the best of the weather today as cloud and rain make way for a hot and humid spell.

Sunseekers spend time on the beach at Brighton in East Sussex today as the warm weather returns to southern England

Hundreds of people headed to Brighton beach today as forecasters said temperatures could hit 81F in parts of Britain

Hundreds of people headed to Brighton beach today as forecasters said temperatures could hit 81F in parts of Britain

Temperatures could hit 81F (27C) in southern England today

Temperatures will fall back to 70F (21C) by Thursday

Temperatures could hit 81F (27C) in southern England today (left), although they will fall back to 70F (21C) by Thursday (right)

But the blast of tropical air did not quite manage to hit the heights forecast, with temperatures peaking at 25.3C in Bude, Cornwall.  

Cloud cover meant the mercury did not rise as high as expected, according to the Met Office, despite a humid day across the country.  

Forecaster Rachael Adshead said: ‘For most people, temperatures have not been dramatic

‘There’s just been a bit more cloud around than we were expecting. Nowhere has seen the sunshine for long enough.

‘We needed somewhere to see the sun for a long time and it just did not happen.’

Wednesday would see a change to more cooler temperatures as the remnants of the category two hurricane are pushed away by a new weather front, Ms Adshead said.

‘We are going to start to lose some of that warm, humid air but we potentially could see highs of 24C or 25C in the far east of England, possibly Kent, Norfolk or Suffolk.

‘Elsewhere it will be turning fresher from the outset as the warm air moves to the east.’

The top temperature of August so far has been the 77.7F (25.4C) recorded in Suffolk last Thursday – well below the current 2017 UK record of 91.1F (34.5C) in London on June 21.  

Moderate levels of UV radiation today

Moderate pollen count

Many parts of Britain are expected to see moderate levels of UV radiation (left) and a moderate pollen count (right) today

Northern Ireland will be cloudy and see some outbreaks of rain which will push into Scotland and later become heavy and thundery during the afternoon, while much of England and Wales will remain dry.

Tomorrow morning will bring heavy rain to Scotland and northern England, but this will clear away to the East – and it will then be bright for most areas with sunny spells and a few showers in the West.

On Thursday, it is set to cloud over in the North with heavy rain pushing in from the West, although it should be largely dry and bright in southern parts with some sunny spells. 

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