Parts of Britain will be as hot as Hollywood over the bank holiday weekend, despite some thunder and rain.

The UK will welcome the start of summer with a mainly warm weekend although there will be showers and thunderstorms at times.

Southern England is expected to be wetter than the north and Scotland, although it will also enjoy the best of the sun, reaching 21C (69.8F).

At times over the weekend, southern England will bask in temperatures similar to that of Los Angeles. Temperatures across the rest of the country are expected to be in the high teens but may creep into the low 20s, the Met Office said.

The final May weekend will begin with warm sunny periods and sunshine across most of the country, although the Midlands is expected to be cloudy.

On Saturday, there will be thunderstorms and scattered showers across the south.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill predicted an overall “decent” final bank holiday before the start of summer. He said: “It’s not going to be too wet and in the sunshine it will be rather warm. It should be mainly dry, with periods of showers, but on the whole a pleasant warm bank holiday weekend for the majority of people.”