Weather warnings have been put in place across the north and north-east today as forecasters predict heavy rain and thunder showers.
While parts of England are expected to bask in sunshine, with temperatures soaring, the Met Office has issued a yellow “be aware” warning for the north of Scotland.
The 12-hour warning came into force at 6am, with heavy rain and thundery spells expected across Aberdeenshire, Moray and parts of the Highlands.
It will be a far cry from yesterday, where Fyvie Castle recorded the highest temperature in Scotland with a balmy 22C.
Uncertainty hangs over the effect on-going Hurricane Gert will play on the weekend’s weather, but a north-south divide is one prediction.
Aberdeen based Met Office forecaster Ian Robertson said the rain was not related to Hurricane Gert and it was still uncertain if the north-east would be adversely affected, adding: “It is just a band of rain that will spread up the north-east in the morning.
“We will see reasonably large amounts of rainfall with an inch to two inches falling, resulting in some surface flooding – it will be quite a wet day and six to seven degrees cooler than yesterday.
“The rest of the weekend is still uncertain with Saturday looking showery in the afternoon and Sunday will be mostly fine with rain later in the day. But that may change once we see Friday’s event pass.”
Hurricane Gert, the second hurricane of the season in the Atlantic, is travelling along the eastern coast of the US.
It is expected to move eastwards and become a low pressure system with its centre somewhere between Iceland and northern Scotland.
Met Office forecaster Luke Miall added: “At the moment we might see a bit of a north-south split developing.
“The wet and windy weather will most likely be to the north and west of the UK, so Scotland, Northern Ireland, north- west England and North Wales will have a wet and windy weekend.
“Nothing severe is expected.”
He said there was some uncertainty about where the UK will be split by the weather, meaning the rain could reach parts of the Midlands, or further north, extending the warmer patches.
The weather is likely to be more settled by midweek but it is unclear what to expect over the rest of August.