Britain basks in 23C highs on Thursday before frost and autumn chill sweep in this weekend

Parts of eastern England are reaching temperatures up to 8C above the mid-October average on Thursday, with the warm spell driven by a deep area of low pressure passing close to Iceland and drawing southerly air across central and southern Britain. The Met Office warns the warmth will not last, with a band of heavy rain edging south through Thursday and a colder northerly airflow set to take over by Friday. Rural frost is expected overnight this weekend, marking a sharp end to an unusually prolonged warm autumn.

The South East and South West have already endured their driest April to September for more than a century, with severe drought now declared across parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and both Sussexes.

Friday will see daytime highs fall back to around 10-16C across the UK, with sunny spells and showers replacing Thursday's unseasonable warmth.

By the weekend, increasing cloud, rural frost and showers in eastern areas will signal a distinctly autumnal shift, with rain or showers returning to parts of England and Wales on Monday and Tuesday.