Temperatures in England are set to be “well above average” this weekend as Friday could become the hottest day of the year, the Met Office said.

Parts of the South East, including London, are expected to hit 24C (75.2F) today, far higher than the average of 16.2C (61.2F) for the month in England.

Met Office meteorologist Richard Miles said that Friday’s temperatures were “particularly surprising” as it is so early in the month.

He said: “The average maximum temperature for May is 15.13C in the UK and 16.2C in England, so it’s quite a bit above that.

“But obviously May tends to be quite a lot cooler at the start than at the end.”

The hottest day of 2022 so far was 15 April, where a high of 23.4C (74.1F) was recorded at St James’ Park, London.

These temperatures remain some way off the record temperature for the month, with the hottest May day ever reaching 32.8C (91F) in 1944.

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The hotter than average weather is predicted to stick around over the rest of this weekend, albeit slightly less warm.

Mr Miles said: “24C is going to be the top temperature you’ll see in the South East and then tomorrow everywhere will be a bit cooler”.

‘North-south split’ across England next week

However, he added “low 20s for lots of the south is fairly realistic, Friday and Saturday”.

Parts of England are expected to be warmer than areas of the Mediterranean, including Istanbul, in Turkey, and similar to Athens, in Greece, and Spain’s Barcelona.

Next week’s weather is due to be more of a mixed bag, as forecasters predict a “north-south split”.

Weather fronts are expected to “move down from the North West bringing showers and damper conditions, but the south and the South East particularly will probably stay relatively dry”, forecasters added.

However, those in southern England will not have long to wait until warmer temperatures return, as towards the back of the week thermometers are set to reach the low 20s once again.

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