Britain's mini-heatwave set to end this week
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Your support makes all the difference.Britain's mini-heatwave will come to a halt this week, with temperatures set to drop in a matter of days.
Following a weekend of record-breaking temperatures, today is expected to see the last of the unseasonably warm weather, with highs of 28C (82.4F) possible.
But by the end of the week the mercury will peak at a much cooler 14C (57.2F), forecasters said.
Victoria Kettley, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "The last of the high temperatures will be today, with temperatures of 25C (77F) and 26C (78.8F) across the Midlands and eastern England, and highs of 27C (80.6F) and 28C (82.4F) in some places.
"Tomorrow it's much cooler, and the highest temperatures will be around 19C (66.2F) and 20C (68F)."
Winds are expected in northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland today, which are set to get stronger towards the end of the week.
Much of the UK will see showers by Thursday, with longer spells of rain and some thunderstorms across western Scotland and north-west England.
Ms Kettley added: "On Saturday, there will be highs of 13C (55.4F) and 14C (57.2F) across England."
In a dramatic change from the heat baking much of Britain in recent days, parts of Scotland could even be hit by frost, where temperatures of just 3C (37.4F) or 4C (39.2) are expected on Friday night.
The unseasonably hot weather continued in England and south Wales yesterday, with the mercury peaking at 29.4C (84.92F) at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, around 3pm, a new record for October 2.
The UK's hottest day of 2011 was June 27 when a temperature of 33.3C (91.9F) was recorded at the Olympic Park in London.
But not everyone in Britain shared in the heatwave.
While many headed for beaches and parks, rain fell on North Wales, most of the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland with temperatures hovering around 15C (59F).
Many feared the worst for the country's motorways, but traffic remained at "normal Sunday levels" as of 4pm, according to Trafficlink, which provides live travel news.
South West Trains said it would be operating a "leaf fall" timetable until December 10 on some routes, with some services departing a few minutes earlier.
The company said leaves falling on the rails are crushed by passing trains, forming a slippery film which makes it harder for trains to accelerate away from stations and meaning drivers have to approach station stops more slowly than normal.
Network Rail runs special rail cleaning trains but these can only reduce and not completely eliminate the problem, South West Trains said on its website.
PA
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