It was the calm before the storm this morning as much of the UK enjoyed a stunning sunrise before heading into a weekend of wet weather.

Those waking up in Lambert’s Castle in Dorset were treated to a beautiful orange sky above Marshwood Vale.

Brits across the country have enjoyed a lengthy hot spell including the hottest day of the year on Sunday.

Unfortunately, it had to come to an end at some point, with forecasters warning heavy rain and thunder is on its way.

High pressure coming up into the UK from the Atlantic Ocean will bring a dramatic change in the weather heading into the weekend.

The thundery rain will begin on Friday but the worst of it will hit on Saturday and hang around for much of the day, the Met Office said.

Stormy weather off the coast of Spain and Portugal, named Storm Miguel, is behind the shift.

Although the storm is not likely to be as strong when it hits the UK from the Iberian peninsula, it will bring persistant wind and rain to most parts of the country.

Met Office meteorologist Richard Miles said: ‘There will be heavy rain very persitantly across north and western areas and the south of England, with the chance of thunder looking likely.

‘It will be breezy in the west and south of England on Saturday, but the rain will be heavy and constant in the north west of England and Scotland.’

The rest of England and Wales will see heavy intermittent showers, the forecaster said.

The south of England will also be hit by strong winds, with gale force winds possible along the south coast.

The Met Office said the weather is likely to turn brighter, with sunny spells in between the showers, towards the end of the weekend.

But the weather will be a far cry from the heat many enjoyed over last weekend, when Britain experienced its hottest day of the year.

Many places around the UK were hotter than the Mediterranean as meteorologists recorded temperatures of 27.6°C at Heathrow Airport in west London.

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