Hot weather maps show 27C Spanish heat bomb hitting UK in hours - 15 hottest cities

Temperatures look set to soar in hours with the mercury rising up into the mid 20s across large parts of Britain, weather maps suggest. Forecast data collected by Netweather shows much of England blanketed in red tomorrow (Friday, August 19), with some areas seeing temperatures rise up to the mid-to-high 20s.

By 6pm UTC (7pm BST) temperatures look set to be mostly above 20 from southern parts of the North East of England down to the South Coast. Norwich is in an area set for max temperatures of between 25 and 27C, and the heat dial could crank up to between 26 and 27C in Cambridge.

A number of major cities are look set for temps of around 26C, including London and Reading. Temperatures across large parts of the Midlands, Anglia, the South East and South West look set to range between 22C and the mid 20s.

Max temperatures towards the southwestern tip of the UK could drop to about 17C around coastal areas. Temperatures in Wales look set to range between 15C on the coasts and 20-22C around Newport and Cardiff in the south.

Areas north of Manchester and up into Scotland look set to be slightly cooler, with much of Scotland in the mid-teens.

However, in some coastal areas, including Inverness, the temperature could be between 16 and 18C. Meanwhile, top temperatures in Northern Ireland look set to range between 13 and 14C.

The Met Office predicts that this evening and tonight will be "rather windy with clear spells across Scotland and Northern Ireland, where it will feel fresh", according to the Government agency."

"Patchy rain for northern England and western Wales. Rather cloudy, mild and humid elsewhere with low cloud and hill fog in the west."

On Friday, it anticipates: "Another grey day for many with cloud extending from southwest to northeast England, bringing further outbreaks of rain.

"Drier and warmer elsewhere and feeling especially warm in the sunnier southeast."

Meanwhile, the Met Office has issued new weather warnings for this weekend that could see as much as 100mm of rain fall in some areas, triggering a "danger to life" alert for millions of Britons.

Two yellow warnings of heavy rain for will be in place on Saturday through to early Sunday. One covers the east of Northern Ireland, where as much as 80mm of rain is possible in some locations.

Another covers southern Scotland, northern England and the north and west of Wales, with the possibility of as much as 100mm of rain.

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Tom Crabtree said: "Through this period 20-40 mm of rain is expected to fall widely, with some locations perhaps seeing 60-100 mm, with much of this total falling in just a few hours. From mid-Saturday onwards, increasingly strong gusty winds and perhaps some thunder will also accompany the rainfall, further increasing the risk of disruption.

"Strong winds are also likely in southwest England, western Wales and later parts of the northeast. These may potentially exceed 55 miles per hour, however, the exact location and timing remain uncertain at this time. We're closely monitoring developments and may issue more warnings as the situation evolves. It's important to stay up to date with our forecasts over the coming days."

You can find the latest warnings and guidance here.

According to WXCharts maps, the 15 hottest cities, which will see temperatures of 23C or above, will be:

• York
• Kingston Upon Hull
• Sheffield
• Nottingham
• St Albans
• Canterbury
• Leeds
• Winchester
• Liverpool
• Colchester
• Cambridge
• Norwich
• Southend-on-Sea
• Chelmsford
• London