Britain is being urged to brace for heavy rain as the Met Office issues a yellow weather warning following glorious sunshine and surging temperatures.
As people across the UK enjoy a "brief taste of summer", forecasters warn that the conditions will be short-lived.
Experts at the Met Office say heavy rain is likely to push northeast across parts of Northern Ireland this evening.
It comes after temperatures peaked at 25.9C in Yeovilton in Somerset on Wednesday.
Experts at the Met Office say heavy rain is likely to push northeast across parts of Northern Ireland this evening
WXCHARTS
Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said: "The big thing is obviously the temperatures. Temperature wise for [Thursday] we are looking at many parts of England, Wales and southern Scotland reaching the mid-20s.
"We could see highs of 27C to 28C, possibly 29C somewhere in eastern England.
"Midlands or East Midlands. Somewhere around the central parts of the UK is where you could see the highest temperature of a possible 29C."
However, the sunshine is set to disappear with rain moving eastwards across the country from Thursday night into Friday, with heavier showers in Scotland, Partridge added.
According to the expert, Friday is expected to be a mix of "sunshine and showers", with temperatures sat around the low to mid-20Cs, with East Anglia getting the best of the weather.
A Met Office spokesperson said: "Rain is expected to reach the west of Northern Ireland this evening, before continuing generally northeast across the rest of the country tonight, clearing the north coast during the early hours of Friday.
"Rain may become heavy for a time, particularly for parts of eastern Derry and Tyrone, Antrim (including the Belfast area), Armagh and Down. 10-15 mm of rain could fall in a few hours, with 20-30 mm possible locally.
"Given wet ground, some localised flooding is possible, especially in areas where run-off occurs. A few rumbles of thunder are also possible."
People across the UK have enjoy a 'brief taste of summer', however forecasters warn that the conditions will be short-lived
WXCHARTS
The weather warning is in place from 8pm on Thursday evening until the early hours of Friday morning, and will impact central and eastern parts of Northern Ireland.
Partridge said: "As we go into weekend we'll slowly see temperatures come back to high teens, low-20Cs through the weekend. So yes, it's short-lived unfortunately, but a brief taste of summer.
"The good news is, although this weekend will be a bit cooler than [Thursday], it is still around about average for the time of year.
"There will be showers around, but there will also be a good amount of sunshine, so it's not going to be as bad as previous weekends we have seen recently."
