UK weather: Sun to return to Britain but will bring sticky and muggy temperatures

Temperatures could reach high 20s later this week - but the rain isn't over yet

Britain will bask in temperatures of up to 28C this week as the warm weather returns following a weekend of wind and rain brought on by tropical storm Ernesto.

The sun will break through as early as Sunday afternoon – with the mercury soaring once more, the Met Office says.

But moisture blown in off the Atlantic will create a sticky, muggy and humid atmosphere.

“Breaks in the cloud will develop leaving a warm and bright afternoon,” forecaster Craig Snell told The Independent. “The south and southeast will see the best of this with temperatures reaching 24C or 25C in London but the north, much of Scotland and Northern Ireland will also feel warm, reaching the low 20s especially in the east.”

Temperatures will stay high into the evening – in the late teens – creating another close night.

“By Monday and Tuesday, Ernesto has completely gone and we should be seeing less clouds and more blue skies,” said Mr Snell. “There will be a few spits and spots of rain, mainly on higher ground – the Welsh mountains and the Lake District, for instance – but overall, it will be fine and bright with temperatures reaching 26C and 27C in the southeast and perhaps East Anglia.”

A potential 28C is a slight but real possibility.

He added Wednesday will then be a turning point with a weather front moving southeast from northwest Scotland: “Ahead of the front it will stay largely fine – with London again possibly seeing temperatures of 27C – but as the front passes down, it will bring rain and some wind, leaving a far fresher, cooler feel once it has passed by Thursday.”

In its aftermath, Friday will see scattered showers across the country, he added.

The bank holiday weekend will remain changeable for most of the country, although the more pleasant weather will be in the south and southeast.

“It’s still a little too early to predict with any real accuracy,” said Mr Snell.

Many parts of Britain have enjoyed a long heatwave this summer, with temperatures upwards of 30C regularly recorded.

Some areas in the southeast did not see rainfall for more than a month, while in late July, the mercury crept close to the national record of 38.5C recorded in Faversham, Kent in 2003.