Met Office names 7 areas facing 26C scorcher on Wednesday - full list

Temperatures in the UK could reach 26C later this week as the Met Office said this could be the warmest April in six years.

The UK is set to experience "a very warm spell for the time of year," the Met Office said, adding that "parts of the UK could see temperatures as high as 26°C tomorrow (Wednesday), before conditions turn markedly cooler later in the week". Their forecast for this week read: "A dry and sunny day for most. Cloudier across Northern Ireland and western Scotland, with the risk of some rain here during the afternoon. Breezy around some coasts, but for many temperatures will be well above the early April average.

"Outbreaks of rain will continue across western and some northern parts of Scotland. Otherwise, it is dry elsewhere with clear spells. A few fog patches are forming across southern England. Plenty of very warm sunshine once again across much of England and Wales, with temperatures well above average. Mostly dry for Northern Ireland and Scotland, though generally cloudier here."

The warmest areas will be London, with 25C, Reading with 24C, Cambridge with 23C, and Southampton with 22C. The south west will get most of the sunshine, the forecaster added. The area can expect the best sunny spell, as Somerset and Bristol are forecase a whopping 22C according to the maps on Wednesday, April 8. Across Wales the country is likely to see averages of 19C and 20C as well.

It will also be warm in the north with Manchester and Newcastle set to reach 20C and 19C respectively. The forecast for Thursday into Saturday read: "Gradually turning wetter and windier across the north and west on Thursday. Likely staying warm and dry in the southeast. Colder, wetter and windier for all on Friday and Saturday."

A Met Office spokesperson said: “As Storm Dave has now moved away, and this high pressure is building behind it, we’re now dragging up warmer air from the continent. It’s one of the seasons where it can change really quickly, day on day.”

WXCharts weather maps, using MetDesk data, are also predicting parts of the South East will hit 22C on Wednesday, April 8, while huge swathes of England will be 21C. Other maps show many parts of the UK enjoying highs of up to 19C from Tuesday, but the peak of the scorching temperatures will strike on Wednesday at around 6pm.

This mini-heatwave comes after the Met Office warned that Storm Dave could bring heavy snow and gale-force winds on Sunday.

An amber weather warning for wind came into place for parts of northern England, Scotland and Wales earlier on Saturday, and the Met Office has now said the storm will "continue to deepen". Heavy snow and gale-force winds will also bring disruption, with winds of up to 66mph already being recorded in Capel Curig, north Wales.

Parts of Lancashire, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, north Wales and Scotland are covered by the amber warning, which came into effect at 7pm and is due to remain in place until 3am on Sunday.