The weather is set to improve on Thursday and Friday to be much warmer and sunnier than earlier this week.

Temperatures will reach highs of about 30C in Stevenage and North Hertfordshire on Friday, the Met Office has said.

Thursday is set to be warm too, with an expected high of around 26C.

While the weekend itself is not expected to be as hot as Friday, the Met Office are still predicting sunny days, with highs of 26C on Saturday and 22C on Sunday.

Here’s the hour-by-hour forecast for Thursday and Friday, according to the Met Office:

Thursday, July 18

6am - 14C

7am- 14C

8am - 16C

9am - 17C

10am - 19C

11am - 20C

12pm - 21C

1pm - 22C

2pm - 23C

3pm - 24C

4pm - 25C

5pm - 25C

6pm - 25C

7pm - 24C

8pm - 23C

9pm - 21C

10pm - 19C

11pm - 18C

Friday, July 19

4am - 15C

7am - 17C

10am - 24C

1pm - 28C

4pm - 29C

7pm - 27C

10pm - 21C