IMPORTANT : ARCHIVED CONTENT

Tuesday begins with a weak weather front bringing a thin band of showery rain to northern England and Wales. Ahead of it hot spells of sunshine develop, but through the day it edges slowly southeastwards and brings cloudier skies towards the London area. Areas to the north have a mostly fine and bright day.

Maximum temperatures range from 18C (64F) in far north west to a hot 31C (86F) in East Anglia. See the rain and lightning radar for the latest view.

Meteo France Arpege, forecast cloud cover, 17:00 BST Tue 24rd July

Forecast short cuts

The month ahead - July

Tonight it stays mainly dry. The south remains very warm and humid but northern areas will be fresher.

Tomorrow thundery showers could break out in the south during afternoon but they are expected to be very scattered. Elsewhere it will be fine with variable amounts of cloud. The warmth spreads northwards again and in the south temperatures peak at close to 30C (86F).

GFS, forecast rain, 16:00 BST Wed 25th July

Uncertain towards the weekend

During the second half of the week deeper areas of low pressure in the Atlantic push eastwards towards the UK. Although they aren't expected to break down the high pressure block over Europe they could fray it around the edges for a time. That makes forecast details for the UK uncertain.

Thursday should be dry and hot in most of the country. There is a risk of thundery showers in England and later on more persistent rain may reach Northern Ireland. It could be the hottest day of the year so far but cloud cover potentially caps temperatures and prevents that.

On Friday fragmenting outbreaks of rain push eastwards across the northern half of the UK. Central and southwestern counties probably have a good deal of dry weather but computer models suggest the possibility of thunderstorms in the south east.

The weekend may be cooler and changeable in the north and west with showers or longer spells of rain. The south and south east could have quite a lot of fine weather and the cooler air Atlantic air mass may in central and northern areas may not reach.

GFS, forecast rain and pressure, 16:00 BST Sun 29th July

Next week begins on a mixed note in the north and west. The south probably will be dry and during the week fine weather spreads northwards at times. Southern and central regions have hot spells.

Register for the TWO community

If you would like to join the TWO community please see how to register for the forum. People with all levels of meteorological knowledge are very welcome to apply. However if you're a meteorology (or related subject) student or recent graduate there may be an opportunity for you to earn some money next summer.

Forecast tools

Check the latest satellite images, computer model charts and rain radar:

1981 - 2010 daily temperature charts

Temperature anomalies

DWD ICON forecast charts

EUMETSAT high resolution satellite images

Rain and precipitation type radar

Meteo France Arpege forecast charts

Global Forecast System (GFS) forecast charts

16 day GEFS ensembles at a glance

Southern counties have a lot of hot weather but in the north a more changeable outlook is favoured. During the first week of August there is a low to moderate chance of extreme heat in the south. View latest GEFS.