Scotland already hit record-breaking temperatures for February today with Aboyne reaching 18.3C – overtaking the previous 17.9C high set in Aberdeen in 1897.
Tropical air has been blown 4,000 miles from the Caribbean to Scotland, with the highs hotter than 16C Alexandria, Egypt.
The warm temperatures are almost 10 degrees higher than normally expected in February – a stark contrast to the cold snap blown in by the Beast from the East last year.
Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said most parts of the UK would remain dry and settled over the weekend, with temperatures potentially scraping Britain's 1998 February record of 19.7C.
He said: "It's air coming up a long way south, tracking back from the Canary Islands that is feeding directly through to the UK.
"The combination, that southerly feed of air and high pressure, is allowing the sunshine to come through and will help lift temperatures."
The hottest February day in Wales was recorded at 18.6C in 1990, while Northern Ireland's record sits at 17.8C in 1998.
Mr Petagna said: "The next few days will remain fine and settled and while temperatures might come down as we go into the weekend, next week by Tuesday and Wednesday, temperatures will pick back up again."
He said Brits must first get through a foggy spell in the South-Southeast regions tonight.
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Fears that today could see heavy rain and flooding today surfaced with tidal surges expected along the Cumbrian coastline and North Sea coast at Easington and Kilnsea.
The best sunny weather is then expected to be recorded across the midlands and towards the southeast.
The temperatures could even be hotter than Australia – where it is summer – as Hobart, Tasmania, is due only 17C highs from midweek.
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