Bank Holiday Monday could be the hottest day of the year so far – with temperatures predicted to hit 25C in parts of the UK.

It comes hot on the heels of two days of glorious weather over the long weekend, which sent Britons flocking to parks and beaches as well as pubs and restaurants now that Covid-19 restrictions have mostly been lifted.

Becky Mitchell, a meteorologist from the Met Office, said the mercury could reach 25C (77F) on Monday – surpassing the high for 2021 so far, which was set on March 30 at Kew Gardens when the temperature hit 24.5C.

Temperatures are expected to be at least in the low 20s for most parts of the UK, even northern Scotland.

“The only exception is along the east coast – there is quite a lot of low cloud, mist and fog in east coastal areas and that will stay for the next few days, so highs of between 12C (53.6F) and 16C (60.8F) there – quite a lot lower than elsewhere,” Ms Mitchell said.

But if a new benchmark for the year is set, it is not expected to last for long, as temperatures are expected to climb to 27C (80.6F) on Wednesday before cooler, fresher air moves in.

Ms Mitchell warned there could be some thunderstorms on the way.

“There will potentially be some thunderstorms by midweek, the first bout of showers will come into parts of the South West and there will be a few thunderstorms in that,” she said.

The storms in the South West are expected to hit on Wednesday, with the South East due a bit of a soaking by Friday.

“There’s a chance of some thundery break down in the south east and we could have some quite intense storms there,” Ms Mitchell said.

“There’s still a lot of uncertainty but with the warm and humid weather we are having we have the key ingredients for thunder storms.”

She continued: “The warmer weather will stick around until at least Thursday in most places, that’s when we could get some slightly fresher air coming in.

Although a fine bank holiday is rare, the temperatures are not unusual for the time of year, with the mercury usually sitting in the high teens and low 20s by late May.

The Met Office warned previously that levels of harmful UV light will be very high over the coming days, and advised people to wear plenty of sunscreen.

May has been the fourth wettest on record for the UK, and the wettest ever for Wales.