As the UK prepares for its hottest day of the year, part of Kent will reach up to 27C.

Yesterday signalled the start of meteorological summer and also the warmest day of 2021 so far, with highs of 25.8C recorded in Cardiff.

However, the Met Office has revealed today's heat is set to trump that with people in Maidstone expected to feel the blistering heat most.

It predicts highs of 27C in the county town from 3pm onwards.

At around 8am it's expected to be around 16C before jumping to 20C by 9am.

The temperature will be at its highest between 3pm and 4pm before slowly dropping off after, but it's set to stay above 20C until 10pm.

Elsewhere in the county there is set to be high temperatures, including 26C in Ashford and Sittingbourne, 24C in Gravesend and Canterbury, while Folkestone is expected to reach highs of 22C and Margate and Sheppey will peak at 20C.

The Met Office has also said the warm weather is likely to cause thunderstorms and bring lightning, hail and heavy rain to parts of the UK.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “The thunderstorms could bring lots of lightning, some hail, as well as some heavy rain, and with the half term there is an increased number of tourists in this area.

“The thunderstorms do then push north-eastwards into the Midlands and across more of Wales, but they also ease and break up, so these places will see some showers but they won’t be as intense.”

The warm weather has been a welcome break for people following a washout May, which brought heavy downpours and prolonged spells of rain for much of the UK.

The UK has seen its fourth highest amount of rainfall on record for the month, with an average of 120mm.

Meanwhile, England had its fifth wettest May on record, and its wettest since 1967, with 111mm of rain.

Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone

Read more: All the latest news from Kent