A churning North Sea storm will stall summer’s return before this weekend ushers a Bermuda heat blast.
A "swathe of wet weather" hammering parts of Britain will offload 24 hours of torrential downpours and thunder.
Eastern regions are in the firing line for the worst of the onslaught, although a wet and miserable outlook awaits much of the country.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “There is a swathe of wet weather out in the north sea, and there are some question marks over how close this is going to get towards us, but there is the potential we could see some heavy rain feeding into some eastern parts of England, and this could intensify as we go through the afternoon, and it could cause some localised issues.
“A few outbreaks of heavier rain are possible elsewhere with some hefty showers across southern counties and some more persistent rain pushing into the far northwest of Scotland.”
But rain-weary Britons have been offered a glimmer of hope with this weekend shaping up for a return to summer.
Temperatures are forecast to return to the mid-20Cs, or even higher, as high pressure forces its way back.
Meteorologists are keeping an eye on the Azores High, also called the Bermuda High, as it nudges in from the southwest.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
WXCHARTS
|Eastern regions are in the firing line for the worst of the onslaught
The large region of high pressure from the tropics has been the driver of hot weather so far this summer.
Burkill said: “As we go through later on in the week, we are going to see a ridge of high pressure building, and that is likely to quieten our weather down, so most places will be turning mostly dry, although some weak fronts may push into the north and the west.
“And with the drier weather, there are signs that we will see temperatures rising again as we towards the end of the week, and a good chance that we will get back into the high 20Cs.”
Thermometers will start to climb through the end of the week, with southern counties touching the low- to mid-20Cs, he added.
WXCHARTS
|A fourth heatwave of the summer could hit Britain in just a couple of weeks
While no heatwave has yet been forecast, if temperatures breach thresholds, it will be the fourth of summer.
Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services and co-author of ‘Surviving Extreme Weather’, said: “I would not be surprised if we see another heatwave within the next few weeks.
“High pressure is ridging in from the south later this week, and this will push temperatures back up.
“We could see the mid-20Cs over the next few days, but later in the month and into the start of August, they could rise higher.”
Stormy weather patterns swirling near the UK may dampen spirits again by the end of the weekend.
Jason Nicholls, lead international forecaster for AccuWeather, said: “Rain may spread eastwards across the UK on Sunday, although Saturday will be drier and brighter.
“Temperatures will be near to average into the middle of the week with sunny periods and the chance of scattered showers.”