Warm weather will return for most of the UK next week, with a possibility of a new hottest day of the year.

Temperatures will keep increasing for most of the country from this weekend and reach the mid-20s by next weekend, according to the Met Office.

Similar to this week, South West England and Wales are likely to get the best weather, with cloudier conditions in the north and east.

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Asked if next week could set the record for the hottest day of the year so far, Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said it is “not beyond the realms of possibility”.

“There will be plenty of dry, fine and sunny weather through the weekend in the UK with high pressure still in charge, seeing some warmer temperatures, possibly seeing [temperatures in the] low-20s especially in the west,” he said.

“As we move towards next weekend there’s a signal for temperatures possibly getting towards the mid-20s.

“It is western areas that are looking likely to have the longer sunny periods, parts of Wales as well as the South West of England, but for the vast majority it will be feeling very pleasant with sunshine.”

Pollen levels also high

Although it will be “slightly warmer than average”, the weather won’t reach heatwave level, he added.

But UV and pollen levels will also be high, the Met Office said.

Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland will miss out on some of the sunshine with isolated showers.

The hottest day of the year so far was Tuesday when 25.1C (77.1F) was recorded in Porthmadog in north Wales.

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May was much drier than average, with only 55% of predicted rainfall (39mm) compared to the long-term average. May 2020 was slightly drier with just 32.8mm of rain.

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