UK weekend temperatures could soar to 27C but rain is also in the forecast

Temperatures are set to surge across parts of England and Wales this weekend.

The hottest areas of south-east England could reach around 27C (81F) on Sunday.

It is not just the UK experiencing a return to summer-like heat - some parts of Spain and south-west France could experience highs above 40C (104F) in the coming days.

Although potentially short lived, the warm weather in the UK will be accompanied by some rather changeable conditions bringing rain to many parts in the north and west.

Thursday in the UK will start with areas of cloud, mist and patches of drizzle for western coasts and hills.

Through the morning cloud will start to break up to the east of high ground with some bright or sunny spells developing.

Temperatures will widely reach the low 20Cs, but could be as high as 25-26C in the warmest areas of the south-east with the possibility of reaching 27C.

A cold front will move in for Thursday afternoon bringing a spell of rain back into western Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England. Temperatures here will tend to reach 16-19C. The rain will then move southwards across much of England and Wales overnight.

A wet start for East Anglia and southern England on Friday but this will clear away quite quickly.

Following will be a mix of sunshine and showers, some heavy in the north and west with a threat of thunder. It will become quite windy through the day with gusts reaching 40-50mph in northern Scotland.

Temperatures will range between 15-22C, feeling fresher but still warm in the sunshine.

On Saturday winds will ease as high pressure builds.

The best of the sunshine will be towards southern areas where it will feel warm.

It will probably be quite cloudy in the north of the UK with some drizzle.

On Sunday low pressure will bring outbreaks of rain to Northern Ireland and Scotland with the potential for gales in the far northwest.

But hotter and sunnier weather will spread to England and Wales as high pressure drifts eastwards allowing southerly winds to feed in the heat from Europe.

It is expected that temperatures across Portugal, Spain and France could go into the 40's.

The Spanish and French Weather Services are warning of the increased risk of wildfires as the landscape is still parched from the dry and hot conditions of the summer.

From Tuesday onwards, temperatures across Europe are widely expected to decrease.

For the UK, next week stays changeable with areas of rain and showers interspersed with some sunshine.

Some computer weather models suggest there could be some stormier weather towards the middle of next week but this far ahead - for now - this looks to be quite a low probability.

Keep up to date with the forecast by checking the BBC Weather website and app.