UK weather: Exact date maps turn bright red as temperatures set to soar into late 20s

The seemingly inescapable grey skies right now may not feel like it, but warm weather could be making its way back to Britain.

It's fair to say the past few weeks have been almost entirely a washout for Brits, with sunny moments missed with the blink of an eye. But a blast of much-awaited warmth could be coming in a matter of days - and at just the right time to welcome the first official week of summer.

WXCharts, which uses MetDesk data, shows a welcome band of red and orange indicating high temperatures heading to the UK. According to the agency, the blast of heat is set to arrive from Thursday, June 27, through to Tuesday, July 2.

The mercury could rise as high as 26C in the warm spell, as the Met Office claims it "could persist" and turn "increasingly hot". A forecast said: "A change to cloudier weather with outbreaks of rain, these most prevalent in the west of the UK, is expected to be well underway by the start of the forecast period.

Temperatures are set to climb up to summery highs of 26C in a matter of days

"However, this may not last too long, as it continues to look increasingly likely that a drier, warmer, and settled spell will begin to develop later this coming weekend, and into the following week. There is a small chance that this could persist for much of the rest of the period, turning increasingly hot."

Net weather.tv makes a similar prediction for later this month, with the site forecast stating that towards June 27 a "ridge of high pressure will likely move into the North Sea and north-western Europe generally, with a trough forming in the eastern North Atlantic, giving Britain southerly and south-westerly winds".

It adds: "As a result, we can expect plenty of dry, sunny weather for most of England during the first half of the week, especially in the east and south. Further north and west, especially in the north and west of Scotland, it will be cloudier, with rain at times for western Scotland and the west of Northern Ireland.

"Temperatures will rise above average for the time of year, and it is forecast to become hot in most parts of England, with the potential for maximum temperatures to exceed 30C for a time in the southeast.

"However, it looks unlikely that much of the extreme heat over North Africa will get as far north as the British Isles."