UK weather forecast today: Five days of rain begin but it will be muggy and as hot as Venice tomorrow

BRITS are braced for hot and muggy weather as five days of rain begin today.

But the warm conditions will continue with the weather forecast to be as hot as Venice, Italy, tomorrow.

The tourist hotspot is predicted to see highs of 26C on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, parts of the UK such as London are expected to hit 25C or 26C tomorrow, according to the latest Met Office forecast.

Today, an area of low pressure will work its way eastwards with much of the north of the country set for rain, while the south tries to cling on to dry conditions.

For most, it has been a dry start to the morning, but low pressure areas will arrive over some regions of the UK and bring rain.

Northern Ireland and western Scotland will face the full brunt of the heavy showers.

Scotland will endure heavy rain for most of today while the south of England enjoys warm and dry conditions.

The forecaster predicts weather to be "increasingly humid" today with a muggy night on the cards.

Temperatures will be similar to Monday with Scotland and northern England hitting the high teens, reports the Met Office.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland, Wales and the south will creep into the 20s with highs of 22C expected.

The Met Office added that tomorrow morning would have a "sticky feel" due to the humid conditions.

The weather will be mostly dry and cloudy on Wednesday, before a band of heavier rain pushes through later in the evening.

Parts of Wales, Scotland Northern Ireland will bear the brunt of the rainy conditions.

"Outbreaks of rain" are expected to continue throughout the week on Thursday and Friday, say the forecaster.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said: "The rain will spread across Scotland through the day. We will see some of it trickling into northern England and parts of north and west Wales.

"Eventually we may see a little bit getting into the east of the Pennines and finally into parts of north east Scotland.

"All the while western Scotland staying pretty soggy, while east of Northern Ireland may dry up. Much of the southern half of the UK will be dry and it looks fairly cloudy though compared to Monday."

He added: "The breeze will be picking up, turning things quite misty and murky in the west as well, around coasts and hills."

It comes after the UK basked in glorious conditions yesterday and over the weekend, with Sunday the joint hottest of the year so far.

The mercury rose to 32.2C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, matching this year's record which was set on June 10 in Chertsey, Surrey.