Today is the hottest day of the year so far, with 33.3C reached at Santon Downham in Suffolk, beating the previous hottest day of the year on 28th June, when Porthmadog in NW Wales recorded 33.0C. Last year Heathrow reached 34.5C on the 21st June, so we still have to surpass that.

Very hot conditions are expected to persist across eastern and southeastern England this week, thanks to a warm and humid southwesterly flow, less cloud cover and very dry ground from weeks of no rainfall which can heat up quickly in the strong July sunshine and thus increase surface temperatures.

Heatwave conditions will affect much of England this week, but the highest temperatures will likely be inland across East Anglia and SE England, where every day this week temperatures will reach the low 30s Celsius. On Thursday and Friday, the surface flow looks to become more backed southeasterly off the near continent – where temperatures look to rise into the mid-30s Celsius, so there is a chance we could see 34-35C across SE England, maybe an outside chance of 36C reached somewhere.

A Met Office Amber Heat Health Warning - Level 3 of 4 has been issued - more on this in Jo's Blog here

Cooler and fresher conditions, with temperatures nearer normal, will prevail across the north and west this week though, with cloudier skies at times and some patchy rain across Scotland and Northern Ireland this afternoon eventually moving down across northern England and Wales on Tuesday. Further cloud and rain look to move in across the far west on Thursday, ahead of it could see the hot conditions trigger some thunderstorms across eastern England, though many places will likely stay dry away from the far west. Friday may see a more widespread risk of heavy thundery downpours developing across eastern areas of England, ahead of a cold front moving in from the west – which will usher in slightly cooler and fresher conditions for all to start the weekend.

Risk of a thundery breakdown later this week ahead of a cold front moving through from the west: