UK weather: Exact date mini-heatwave due to return as forecasters issue July verdict

Conditions are expected to cool this week as the heatwave finally loses its shine - but Britain could be bathing in sunny weather again soon.

The nation experienced its warmest temperature of the year so far last week when 30.3C was recorded at Heathrow, prompting the UK Health Security Agency to issue a slew of heat health alerts. But the mercury now looks set to drop down significantly over the next few days, and is expected to hover around the mid-to-high teens in many areas on Monday.

Cloudy conditions are also forecast for much of the UK this week. There's some hope on the horizon for sun-lovers however, as a more balmy picture begins to re-emerge around the middle of next week.

Temperature map for Wednesday 10 July

According to Accuweather, high temperatures of 25C could be felt in London and the southeast on Wednesday July 10. Weather radar maps from WXCharts have turned red, indicating a warmer than usual temperatures compared to the average for that day of the year.

Longer term forecasts for July however remain more mixed. In his latest Exacta Weather update, forecaster James Madden said the jet stream could bring a prolonged period of warmer temperatures from next week, and wrote: "We now expect the more southern-driven jet stream to start to drive northwards from in and around this time next week and during the following week, starting on July 8th.

Temperature map for Friday 12 July

"This will allow for our shores (UK and Ireland) to come under a much warmer airflow over an extended period from this pattern change, and it will also place us in an extremely favourable position for high pressure rises and some hot to very hot temperatures on a widespread scale from in and around mid-July and throughout much of the second half of the month."

The Met Office have meanwhile predicted a period of more "changeable" conditions, including some rain. Their long-range forecast for Friday 5 July to Saturday 14 July reads: "This period is likely to see a continuation of the changeable conditions, with occasional bands of rain moving in from the west or northwest. There will be a good deal of dry, warm, and settled weather in between frontal systems, with the best conditions most likely in the south and east where winds will be lighter. In contrast, further north and west, it will generally be breezier, and any rain that does occur will be heaviest over the hills.

"Cloud cover will vary, with cloudier weather expected in the north and west, while clearer skies are likely in the south and east. Temperatures will be around or a little below average for the time of year, but on sunnier days with lighter winds, it will still feel warm."