Temperatures in London hit a sizzling 25.4C on Friday afternoon as the capital enjoys a mini-heatwave.
The Met Office recorded the high at both Heathrow Airport and Kew gardens, making areas of southern England hotter than Tenerife where the projected high was 23C.
It comes close to the hottest day of the year so far which was on April 8, which saw temperatures soar to 26.6C in Kew Gardens.
However, forecasters do not expect the sunshine to last, with “unsettled conditions” and rain showers on the way over the weekend.
Forecasters predict the weather will become “increasingly changeable” as we head into the weekend, with cloudy weather, thunder and rain expected.
Met Office forecasters say that highs in London across the South-East will be about 10C higher than the average for the time of year, which are 15 to 17C.
The warm weather falls just short of the record high in April of 29.4C, recorded in Camden Square, central London, in 1949, Met Office records show.
Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge told the Press Association: “We’ve got some very warm, humid air coming up from the south.
“That means we will see some very warm weather, particularly in the east and the South East, because there we’ll see the best of the sunshine.”
The rest of the country may not be so lucky - cloud over the central spine of the UK, from Scotland, the Pennines and into the Midlands looks set to produce some heavy rain on Friday, and the odd rumble of thunder.
And changeable conditions could bring a different story across the country over the May Day weekend, with rain forecast across the country on Sunday and temperatures cooling towards averages for April.
Mr Partridge said: “There will be some bright spells in there as well on Saturday, but there will also be showers, particularly across northern and western parts of the UK.”
“By the time we get to Monday, we’re actually going to see temperatures roughly where they should be for this time of year.
“We’re looking at elevens and twelves (degrees Celsius) in the north and fifteens and sixteens in the south, so it will feel quite fresh and chilly compared to what we’ve had.”
