UK weather latest: Soaring temperatures over Bank Holiday weekend to melt away Arctic blast

Temperatures are set to rise over the bank holiday weekend, bringing relief to those who have been shivering their way into work over the last few days.

"Saturday is probably, for most people, going to be the better day of the weekend," a Met Office spokeswoman said.

Although the skies will not be uniformly sunny, she added that Saturday would be largely dry, although wind and rain are set to spread from south-west to north-east on Sunday and Monday.

"The weather is warming up," she said. "We've had a north-westerly flow so the air is coming down from the north, polar regions. There's a change of air flow happening at the moment. By the time we get into tomorrow [Friday] and the weekend we're looking a more southerly airflow. Warm air coming in.

Temperatures on Saturday could reach 19C and sunny spells during the following days could be slightly warmer, she added.

But the forecast, as is bank holiday tradition, appears to improve after the long weekend.

"Once everybody's back in work we're going to see a more settled picture with sunshine around and temperatures creeping up," she said.