An amber weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued for parts of the UK tonight.
The hot and humid weather expected throughout Friday will end in “beefy showers” in many areas, the Met Office warned.
Its amber alert comes into force from 8pm and affects parts of the east of England, from Norfolk down to East Sussex.
The forecaster said “fast flowing or deep floodwater is likely, causing danger to life”.
Cambridge is forecast to reach 29C, while temperatures are expected to reach 27C in Canterbury and 25C in Nottingham and Durham.
A yellow warning was also issued for a broader stretch of the south, including London, starting from 7pm.
But a yellow warning across an even greater area will kick in on Saturday, covering most of Scotland, Wales the west of England and the North East.
It is in place from midnight tonight until 6pm on Saturday.
A yellow warning brings a small risk of power cuts, flash flooding, hail and people being cut off, according to the Met Office.
In Scotland, Aviemore could see highs of 24C today.
A less severe but far larger yellow warning is in place across much of the west and north east of Britain on Saturday. Pic: Met Office
Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said much of Friday would be “hot and humid” with a “small chance” the mercury could hit 30C.
Temperatures that high would make today the hottest day of 2025, surpassing the 29.3C recorded at Kew Gardens in west London on 1 May.
It means the parts of the UK could be hotter than Ibiza, Mykonos and Los Angeles.
Mr Deakin said “beefy showers” were expected on Friday in Wales and the west of England after a “humid start to what will be a very warm day for some on Friday”.
He warned of hail, gusty wind and the possibility of flooding as the skies cloud over this afternoon and into the evening.
While some areas covered by the warnings may end up avoiding the worst of the severe weather, some places could see torrential rain of 30-50mm of rain in a very short space of time, before the weather begins to settle on Saturday.
Meanwhile the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued its first yellow heat-health alert of the year, active until 8am on Sunday in the east of England, East Midlands, London, and the south east.
Under UKHSA and the Met Office’s Weather-Health alerting system, a yellow alert means there could be an increased use of healthcare services by vulnerable people.
A yellow alert warns of a possible spike in vulnerable people accessing healthcare, and health risks for the over 65s and those with conditions like respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
While scientists have not assessed the role of global warming in this short term event, in general they expect more heavy downpours as the climate changes.
That’s largely because hotter air can hold more moisture, and so releases more water when it rains.
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