Sun-day! Hottest day of the year so far is forecast in parts of UK

Most of England and Wales are set to continue basking in sunshine today, with the hottest day of the year expected in some parts of the country.

The day will see a lot of sunshine across the majority of England and Wales, and for parts of the South East temperatures could reach 24C or possibly slightly higher.

That would make it the warmest day of the year so far, topping the 22.1C recorded on 30 March in Gravesend, Kent.

It would also see UK temperatures top those in parts of the Mediterranean.

The warm spell comes as high pressure is moving eastwards this weekend, allowing for southerly winds to suck up the warm air from Spain and northwest Africa.

However, not everywhere will experience the bright and mild spring weather on Sunday.

For Scotland and Ireland it will be cloudy and cool again with spells of rain.

Overnight on Sunday, winds will change to a northerly direction - pushing down cloud, rain and showers, and in turn temperatures could drop by 10 degrees.

There could even be some wintry outbreaks over the Scottish Highlands.

Into the week, it will be mostly cloudy and breezy for northern parts of the UK with a chance of rain, most probably over the northwest of Scotland.

At this stage southern areas look to be drier and sunnier, with lighter winds and feeling mild, but not as warm as this weekend.