UK weather: Mini heatwave on the way with temperatures set to soar in London

After snow and ice warnings were issued across the UK last week, temperatures are set to rise significantly on 4 May (18C), reaching up to 24C in the capital by the weekend. Forecasters have predicted dry and sunny conditions throughout the week, allowing Londoners to experience the best of the mini heatwave.

On 3 May temperatures across the country had already risen, with London seeing highs of 16C and areas in northern Scotland seeing temperatures of 14C. The Met Office has confirmed that the weather this week will feel "warmer and much more like spring".

The above-average highs of 24C will come as a pleasant surprise for many whose Bank Holiday weekend was overshadowed by rain and wind. On 29 April the Met Office issued severe weather warnings for snow in Scotland, northern England and the Midlands, the first April snow warning since 2013.

On 26 April the snow reached as far south as London, with the capital seeing a light dusting and causing thousands to take to Twitter in shock. It was the first time London had seen snow in April in eight years, when it was recorded in Hampstead on 6 April 2008.

Despite the cold conditions in April, provisional figures from the Met Office suggested that the month was 0.7C below the long-term average, which is not as cold as the Aprils of 2012 and 2013. Forecasters also noted that it is more likely to see snow in April than in November.

The Met Office also said that it was not unusual to see some snow in May, with snow warnings issued in May in 2015. In 1979 it reportedly snowed every day somewhere in the UK between 1 and 6 May, including in parts of the south east of England. On 6 May 1997, the Met Office said 200 stations across the UK recorded falling snow.