Summer officially starts on Thursday and Britain will be braced for scorching conditions as temperatures are set to reach highs of 23C in some places.
May had been a brilliant month for the sun worshippers following a miserable April and the mercury will continue to climb as Cardiff and Southampton look to battle for the hottest place to be in the UK.
By Thursday afternoon, the Welsh capital and England's south coast (23C) will both be hotter than Barcelona (22C).
Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said: "Out towards the west, just like recent days, feeling pleasantly warm in the sunshine. But do watch out. The sun is quite strong.
"It's probably the strongest this gets really across the UK, could even see very high levels of UV in the south. So if you are out and about, planning a trip to the beach, do take some sensible precautions and slap on the sun cream."
It will be a cooler start for Western Scotland and Northern Ireland as we head through the morning, with even a few spots of mist and ground frost due to the clearer skies.
The rest of the UK should be heading into the morning at between 8C and 11C before the temperatures start to climb.
The east coast is likely to be cooler as it will be "stubbornly cloudy" and below average for this time of year as Newcastle (13C), Hull (15C) and Norwich (14C) feel the easterly breeze.
A band of high pressure will remain over the UK over the weekend which will mean that the temperatures should still be pleasant, meanwhile most of Europe will be hit by rain.
UK 5 day weather forecast
This Evening and Tonight:
Staying largely dry this evening, with some late sunshine for western parts. Cloudy elsewhere, with this thickening overnight, leading to a few spots of drizzle. Perhaps a few mist or fog patches for any western areas that remain clear.
Thursday:
Morning cloud retreating towards the north and east, and here staying cool. Elsewhere plenty of warm sunshine developing as the cloud breaks quite readily. Remaining rather breezy in the south.
Outlook for Friday to Sunday:
High pressure will dominate giving mainly fine and settled weather. Warm sunshine for many, although low cloud persisting across parts of the north and east, becoming more widespread temporarily overnight.
