Weather trend: Cloudy in the northwest at first, but turning very warm or hot for many later

A ridge of high pressure will build across western Europe over the next few days, bringing back much warmer and settled conditions later in the week.

It will be a bit of a mixed bag for the middle of the week, with fairly extensive cloud across many parts of Ireland, Scotland and some parts of northern England on Wednesday.

There could be some patchy light rain or drizzle as well at times. Further south and east meanwhile, things should remain dry with spells of warm sunshine.

As high pressure continues to build across northwestern Europe through Thursday and Friday, the air mass is set to become drier and warmer, with plenty of sunshine across most parts of the UK.

However, thicker cloud may remain a feature over western Ireland and Scotland, perhaps still bringing some patchy light rain.

Temperatures meanwhile continue to rise, with widespread 25°C and more likely away from coasts, whilst the south and southeast of England could see a hot 32°C as soon as Friday afternoon.

This new spell of very warm weather is set to last throughout the weekend, with up to 32°C possible in a few places across central and southern England.

Coastal regions as well as most of Ireland and Scotland should see more comfortable daytime highs ranging from 20 to 27°C.

The sun's ultraviolet radiation will also once again be very high, so be sure to keep tabs on the latest UV forecast for your area.