Cooler for some this weekend but heatwave continues

Temperatures in some parts of the UK will feel noticeably cooler this weekend - but the heatwave is set to continue with heat health alerts still in force for nearly all of England.

A strengthening north-easterly wind will shift the hottest spots from south-east England further west across the west Midlands and south-east Wales.

Friday saw temperatures exceed 35C, making it a record for the most 35+C days in a calendar year - bringing the total so far in 2026 to six. It also brought the total of 34+C days to nine - another record. It also saw parts of Scotland enter into heatwave after three days of at least 25C.

Amber and yellow heat health alerts issued by the UK Health Security Agency, external (UKHSA) remain in place across large parts of England until 21:00 BST on Sunday.

Five water companies also announced hosepipe bans due to a lack of rain and increased water demand affecting more than five million people, while authorities have warned of the risk of wildfires.

On Friday, the maximum temperature in England of 35.2C was recorded in Coton-in-the Elms, Derbyshire, while Usk, Monmouthshire saw the highest temperature of 34.3C in Wales.

Threave, Dumfries and Galloway recorded Scotland's highest temperature of 29.7C, while the highest temperature in Northern Ireland peaked at 27.4C in Killowen, Co. Down.

On Saturday the highest temperatures will be in the west Midlands, south-east Wales and parts of southern England - up to 33C.

A brisk north-easterly wind means that eastern parts of England will feel a drop off in temperatures.

North Sea coasts from Northumberland to Suffolk could remain cloudy and misty on Saturday but should be much sunnier on Sunday.

Scotland and Northern Ireland will also see more cloud.

Showers in eastern Scotland will have died out by Sunday bringing more sunshine.

Temperatures will be 23 or 24C at best but eastern Scotland will be cooler.

On Sunday, as the wind strengthens, temperatures will be a few degrees lower still in England and Wales - but could still reach 30C in southern England.

These changes to the weather do not mean an end to the heatwave.

It is set to heat up again next week, and while it will not a be as hot as the past seven days, the heatwave criteria could be met in more of the UK by Wednesday or Thursday.

High pressure will remain centred to the north of the UK and the brisk east to north-easterly winds will gradually lessen with warmer air from northern France pushing back into southern England. Here temperatures will get back up to 32 or 33C.

Current forecasts suggest somewhere in the UK will reach 30C or more for 12 days in a row but this could come to an end by next weekend.

For most places the answer is no.

But with lower pressure sitting the other side of the English Channel the far south-west of England could see some showers on Monday. These should die out as they run further north on Tuesday.

It is not really until the end of the week that the chance of rain is greater. This currently looks confined to southern parts of England, and perhaps only briefly.

Most of the downpours may be over the near continent as high pressure is forecast to build back across the UK next weekend from the Atlantic. This would bring a cooler wind but no rain.

Looking further ahead temperatures are most likely to stay above average with some hot days expected, especially in central, southern and eastern regions.

There will be a lot of dry weather, with occasional rain mostly affecting northern areas.

Although according to the Met Office's three-month outlook, near-average rainfall is expected for July, August and September with large regional variations.

Millions of people across the south-east of the England will be affected by hosepipe bans due to concerns over the lack of rainfall.

Anglian Water has introduced its first hosepipe ban in a decade which applies to customers in the east of England and begins at 01:00 BST on Saturday.

A ban for one million households supplied by Southern Water in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight has also come into force. South East Water has its own restrictions in place.

On Thursday, Cambridge Water also announced its first hosepipe ban in 30 years.

The past winter months of December 2025 through to February 2026 brought an overall 13% more rainfall compared to average in the UK. However, there were stark regional differences. England saw 42% more than average whilst Scotland received 14% below average.

However, the spring that followed was overall 14% below the long-term meteorological average in terms of rainfall for the UK, and again varied enormously depending on where you are.

Northern England had 90% of its average, whereas there was just 50% in southern England.

Some spots in the south-east and east of England saw around a third of their average seasonal rainfall, including Suffolk (33%), Kent (33%), Essex (34%), Cambridgeshire (35%) and the City of London (36%).

The warm and dry conditions coupled with freshening winds will result in extreme wildfire conditions for many parts of England and Wales through the weekend, the Met Office warned.

A National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) spokesperson said: "When the weather stays hot and dry, it only takes one spark to start a wildfire. What can begin as a small fire can spread incredibly quickly, putting people, homes, wildlife and our countryside at risk."

Forestry England, a government agency looking after 1,500 woods and forests in England, has raised its wildfire risk to extreme and is reminding the public never to light a fire or BBQ in forests or woodlands.