UK weather maps turn red as Britain faces 26C 'mini heatwave'

Sunny weather is set to hit the UK in a fortnight, bringing with it temperatures of up to 26C. According to the Met Office, a UK heatwave threshold is met when a location records a period of at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the temperature threshold.

The threshold varies by UK county, being 28C from Cambridgeshire to Surrey; 27C between Lincolnshire, Kent, Hampshire, and the West Midlands; 26C between East Riding, Cheshire, to Dorset; and 25C for the north and southwest of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

WXCharts has forecast a '' for June 13, primarily over the southeast. The hottest place will be Kent, where temperatures will reach 26C. The next highest temperatures will be in Brighton, Reading, Luton, Norwich and Colchester, where it will be 24C to 25C. It will be 21C to 23C in Cambridge, Northampton, Bristol, Southampton, Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, and York.

The rest of the UK (Cardiff, Conwy, Plymouth, Liverpool, Carlisle, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Inverness, Aberdeen) will be between 15C and 20C.

It will be coldest in west Scotland (Fort William, Skye, Oban), where maximum temperatures will be between 12C and 14C. The Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines could drop down to 14C.

The Met Office says of the period: "Changeable weather across the UK with a mixture of Atlantic weather systems moving in from the west interspersed with dry and sunny periods.

"The wettest conditions are likely to be in the northwest, with the driest weather in the south and southeast. Temperatures are most likely to be near or slightly above normal, perhaps with some hot spells at times, especially across the south."

Tonight:

Low cloud and drizzle will persist across many western hills overnight, before more persistent rain returns to the north and west, along with strengthening winds later. Clear spells elsewhere.

Friday:

Rain clearing eastwards across northern areas, Cloudy across central areas, with sunny spells and showers across the south. Temperatures near normal overall, but feeling warm in the southeast.

Outlook for Saturday to Monday:

Further showery rain this weekend, mainly in the north. Some very warm sunshine at first further south. Feeling warm, especially on Saturday, cooler from Sunday, and often breezy.