Brits are set for showers and cooler weather over the next couple of days before temperatures could hit the low 30Cs again over the weekend.
After the record breaking highs it was a very different day on Wednesday with heavy showers and thunderstorms and there is more rain on the way for the rest of the working week.
People can expect much cooler temperatures on Thursday with a high of 25C likely, probably towards the south of the country, before temperatures are set to rise again at the weekend with 31C or 32C possible in East Anglia or Cambridgeshire.
"All that extreme heat is being steadily pushed away by weather fronts and something cooler arriving in the short term, then eyes look down to the south with the potential for some heavy thundery showers to affect parts of the south on Friday but they will be very much hit and miss," said Met Office forecaster Alex Deakin.
"After that, well, we are mostly looking out to the Atlantic as low pressure starts to move in and isobars fairly close together and weather fronts drifting across the country. That will bring clouds, some outbreaks of rain and generally a fresher feel as we head into the early part of next week."
Mr Deakin said that while it could reach 32C on Sunday in the South East, it will be a lot cooler in the north of the country.
“Some very warm air never too far away from the far south and as I say there is the potential for some thunderstorms on Friday and then the warm air is tucked in here across parts of England and Wales for Saturday and Sunday," he said.
"So temperatures could tick up back to the high 20Cs, possibly even the low 30Cs across the South East and East Anglia on Sunday but it is going to be quite a contrast with much cooler conditions further north and west with weather fronts bringing cloud and outbreaks of rain."
Then for next week the outlook is quite mixed with temperatures largely appearing average for the time of year especially at the start.
The UK recorded a new provisional high temperature of 40.3C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, on Tuesday, outstripping the previous record set in Cambridge in 2019 of 38.7.
The heatwave has caused chaos up and down the country and there has been a warning that the UK needs to get used to the hotter weather.
West Yorkshire Deputy Chief Fire Officer Dave Walton said Tuesday was "a game changer", adding: "Fires were spreading much more quickly than ever before."
He said that usually when a big fire happened, it was possible to call on neighbouring services to help, but on Tuesday "everyone was busy and completely stacked out. The predictions are we will get heatwaves like this much more regularly, even as much as every three years, due to climate change.
"This is a very different position we are in now compared to a one-off event nearly 50 years ago, and we need to see this as a wake-up call.
"We need to learn how we get prepared as a country for this and how we rethink the resource we have or need, going forward, so we are ready for these, so homes, property and ultimately people's lives are saved."
UK forecast for the next 5 days
Some rain in places. Temperatures mostly back to normal.
Today:
Rather cloudy for many, but also some sunny spells with best sunshine probably away from central areas. Cloud thick enough for patchy rain over central spine of Britain, most likely northern England. Temperatures lower and close to average for most.
Tonight:
Rather cloudy for many. Some patchy rain and drizzle, locally heavy across central UK later. Relatively warm overnight, though minima lower than previous night in the east.
Friday:
Rather cloudy with some sunshine across south, far west and east Scotland. Rain across central areas moving north. Scattered heavy showers developing in south.
Outlook for Saturday to Monday:
Rain spreading to the northwest Saturday, dry elsewhere. Hot in the southeast Sunday, cooler elsewhere with occasional showers. Sunny spells and showers Monday, heavy in the north.
