The last of the summer weather will cling on for a few more days as most of Britain is set to see high temperatures until the weekend.

As the official start of autumn approaches on Monday, much of the country will be enjoying sunny weather up until the change of the seasons.

Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey said most people will have plenty of sunshine for the rest of the week, though nights and early mornings will start off chilly.

Northern Scotland will miss some of the sunshine, with patchy rain expected from Wednesday through to Thursday morning, before it begins to clear in favour of sunny weather along with the rest of the country.

She said: “There is a front coming through in Scotland which could bring rain in the far north west, but in general Wednesday and Thursday will be a fine day for most people.

“As we go into Friday, there will be further good weather for the day with temperatures in the low 20s.”

Autumn weather 2019
The Virginia creeper covering the Tu Hwnt l’r Bont Tearoom in Llanrwst, north Wales, begins to change colour as autumn sets in (Peter Byrne/PA)

However the weekend will then signal a change between summer and autumn as heavy rain and potential thunder appear in the South West late on Saturday and into the rest of the country on Sunday.

Ms Maxey added that the clearer days bring cooler nights to much of the UK, with night time temperatures falling to low single digits and fog appearing in places.

“Next week is looking much more unsettled. There is a definite autumnal feel with the sunny days but you are also getting the colder nights.”

She said that as autumn is a transitional period between seasons, it is still possible for some lucky people to see more sunshine over the next few months.

“It’s not unusual to have warm spells in autumn,” she added.

Autumn weather 2019
The sun sets behind Burbo Bank wind farm and Another Place, an art installation by Antony Gormley, at Crosby Beach on Merseyside (Peter Byrne/PA)

The Met Office monitors two different dates to mark the start of the autumn season, the astronomical autumn and the meteorological autumn.

Astronomical autumn is defined by the Earth’s axis as it orbits around the sun and officially begins on the autumn equinox taking place this year on September 23.

Forecasters also use the start of September each year to mark the meteorological autumn, as it divides the year neatly into four seasons and is used for record-keeping and trends.