Temperatures could peak at 26C next week as late summer warmth returns to parts of the UK.

Southern areas will experience the highest temperatures, but most locations will be warmer than normal for late September.

Warmth could last all week for some in England and Wales, but it might only be a short-lived boost for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The high pressure, which is responsible for the warmth, will also mean little rain for places continuing to experience drought conditions.

The changeable conditions that have dominated the past week will continue into the weekend, with blustery winds coming in off the Atlantic and gales for some western coasts and hills.

While Saturday will become a day of sunshine and passing showers for many, in southern parts of England and Wales a weather front draped across the area will mean mostly cloudy conditions and rain or drizzle at times, especially in the south-west.

Despite the cloud, it will feel warm and humid due to the south-westerly winds dragging in warm and moist air from the mid-Atlantic.

Over the coming days the jet stream will buckle to the north of the UK allowing high pressure to build

The much more autumnal look to the weather charts at the moment is down to a particularly brisk and straight jet stream roaring through the skies across the Atlantic.

It has meant rain-bearing areas of lower pressure to the north of the UK, high pressure to the south and stronger winds in between, creating the changeable conditions.

However, as the jet stream starts to buckle through the second half of the weekend the weather will slowly being to calm down.

On Sunday, early rain in the far north and south of the UK should move away to leave most parts dry with sunny spells by the afternoon.

Strong winds in north-east Scotland should ease too. While it will feel pleasant in the sunshine, temperatures will be close to the seasonal average of 15-21 Celsius.

Into the start of next week, high pressure will build across the UK more widely at first.

Other than early rain in Scotland and northern England, most places will see increasing amounts of sunshine breaking through during the day.

Temperatures will lift by a degree or so compared to Sunday and humidity levels will creep up too.

That more humid air paired with light winds across England and Wales into Tuesday means some will start off rather misty and foggy.

Once the sun has broken through though, it will feel like late summer warmth has returned.

Temperatures could peak at around 25 or 26 Celsius in south-east England, but reach the low 20s in many other parts of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Eastern Scotland.

2026 has already been a record-breaking year for the number of days above 25C, with last week exceeding the record of 89 days set in 1959.

A weather front moving into western Scotland is likely to bring some rain and could be the focus for a developing low pressure system that will bring more widespread rain midweek across the northern half of the UK.

As high pressure holds on across the south, many will stay largely dry and warm here through the rest of the week.

While many may enjoy the warm weather, it is not good news for declining reservoir and water storage levels.

While recent rain has been welcome, it has been well short of what is required to break the drought across most of England and Wales.

By Friday morning Leconfield, East Yorkshire had only received 11% of its normal September rainfall, and Durham just 14% - both well below the 50-60% that would be typical by now.

Some forecasts do show the potential for rain returning more widely from late week and into next, but others hint at continuing high pressure and potentially even warmer air.

Keep up to date with the latest here and on the BBC Weather app.

At least seven months of relentless rain needed to end drought, research shows

El Niño likely to cause wetter and warmer-than-normal autumn