The UK is set for a cooler start to the weekend and there will be sweeping showers across parts of the country but temperatures are set to rise in the southeast up to 29C07:58, 01 Aug 2026Brits are set for more scorching temperatures this weekend - but mixed in with sweeping showers for parts of the country.‌It will be a cooler start to Saturday following days of hot and humid weather with the Met Office announcing that England and Wales are on course for the driest July since records began.‌But temperatures are set to rise again especially for the southeast of England where it could reach 27C today and then 29C on Sunday, while in the north and west it is unlikely to reach higher than the low 20Cs.‌"The heaviest and the most frequent showers across Scotland and Northern Ireland but for most of England and Wales we are looking at a dry and sunny start to the day on Saturday," said BBC weather forecaster Chris Fawkes."So showers will continue to run in thick and fast across Scotland, Northern Ireland seeing a few and you could also see one or two across northern England and Wales, but for the most part, England and Wales having a dry day with sunshine.‌"It will become warm again with temperatures in the southeast up to 27C, otherwise across other parts of the north and west of the UK temperatures generally high teens or low 20Cs"The Met Office says that England and Wales are on course for the driest July since records began. It said the month was characterised by an “exceptional combination of extreme heat, abundant sunshine and an almost complete absence of rainfall”.Provisional statistics showed that only 5.6mm of rainfall had been recorded in England in July – less than half of the previous record of 13.4mm set in 1911.‌Wales is also set for its driest July with 7.9mm of rainfall, almost a third of the previous record of 22.6mm also set in 1911. Northern Ireland is on track for its eighth driest July while the UK as a whole is on course for its third driest.Scotland has had 72% of its average rainfall for the month and is not currently within its top 10 driest Julys.‌Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said also says there will be showery rain in the north, particularly Scotland, but it will be mostly dry elsewhere,“Many places, especially in the south, are crying out for some much-needed rain," said Mr Burkill. “Whilst there’s a bit of a rain on the horizon for next week, there’s not much to come this weekend.”Aerial pictures taken on Friday show the parched London landscape after weeks of hot, dry weather. Half of England and the whole of Wales is is officially in drought as successive heatwaves put pressures on water resources.Article continues belowFirefighters have been tackling a blaze at Dunwich Heath, near Leiston, Suffolk, since 5.30pm on Wednesday. Suffolk County Council said crews remained at the scene and “good progress is continuing”. The wildfire is a few miles from nuclear power station Sizewell B and the construction site for new power station Sizewell C.