The Met Office has released weather maps showing rain across 10 regions on Friday, as thunderstorms are set to end the country's fifth heatwave of the summer.
Forecasters believe up to an inch of rain will fall in some areas, a stark contrast to Thursday, when the hottest day of the year was recorded with 38.1C at Kew Gardens in London.
Rain brings relief amid drought and wildfires
The rain will be a welcome relief for many, as most of England and Wales is in drought, and wildfires have raged across parts of the country in a record-breaking summer.
The Met Office said: "Hot and sunny in the southeast. Increasingly humid for Wales and western/northern England with variable cloud and possible afternoon thunderstorms."
It added: "Fresher, albeit rather cloudy, conditions for Northern Ireland and Scotland after early heavy and thundery rain clears the east."
Friday's forecast and regional impact
This evening's forecast reads: "Thunderstorms pushing eastwards overnight, with heavy downpours particularly possible over eastern England. Warm and muggy in the southeast, but fresher than recent nights elsewhere. A few showers for northern Scotland."
Weather maps show a wet start for most of Scotland, with an inch of rain possible in central parts at 5am. By 8am, that band moves to the North Sea, but scattered showers remain.
It will be dry for the vast majority at lunchtime, though some rain will hit north Wales and Northern Ireland. Heavy isolated rain is expected in northern England in the early afternoon, around the Yorkshire Dales.
Evening rain and affected areas
Those clouds will move eastwards, bringing precipitation to the north east of England, East Yorkshire, and the East Midlands in the evening. As the evening progresses, those areas will see more heavy rain, while the south west and East Anglia will see lighter showers.
The regions facing rain on Friday are: Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, North West England, North East England, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, South West England, and the East of England.
