Warm and dry weather to continue but with temperatures below 23C highs

Warm and dry weather is expected to last throughout the weekend across the UK but temperatures will dip following the hottest day of the year so far, the Met Office said.

The country is set to enjoy highs of 20C on Saturday, which may even climb to 21C in parts of south-east England.

On Sunday, the weather will become slightly milder, falling to a maximum of 17C in the South West.

It comes after Friday was the hottest day of the year so far with 23.7C registered in Otterbourne, Hampshire.

Becky Mitchell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “Overall, we are in for very warm weather across much of the UK, with plenty of sunshine heading into the weekend.

“We will hang on to a good deal of sunshine and dry weather across the whole of the UK.

“Southern England and South Wales will still be rather warm, but with quite a strong wind.

“Elsewhere, we’ve got some slightly cooler air pushing in from the North East, so temperatures will come down by quite a few degrees for the rest of the country, but it will still feel pleasant in the sunshine.”

She added: “Heading into Sunday again, largely fine, dry and sunny across the whole of the UK.”

The previous hottest day of 2025 was on March 20 when a temperature of 21.3C was recorded in Northolt, west London.

It comes after England saw its sunniest March on record and its sixth driest March since records began in 1836, according to the Met Office.

Meanwhile, Tesco said it had seen a surge in shoppers buying barbecue products in preparation for the sunny weather.

The retailer predicted weekend sales of one million packs of sausages, nearly one million packs of barbecue rolls, and 1.7 million packs of ice cream.