Autumn may be getting into its stride, yet an Indian Summer is set to make a brief appearance this week before ushering in a wet weekend.

Midweek temperatures are forecast to reach an unseasonable 24C in London and the south east – almost as hot as in Rome – with Wednesday looking to be the warmest day of the month.

This is up from temperatures in the low and mid-teens seen at the start of this week throughout the UK.

October 16 last year saw the mercury rise to 23.5C – and such temperatures are double the monthly average of 10C.

Wednesday should provide some respite to northern parts of the UK, particularly Northern Ireland and Scotland – currently experiencing heavy rain until Tuesday.

However the warm, dry and pleasant conditions will be short-lived as the rest of the country descends into wet and windy territory, with temperatures dropping back to the mid-teens on Sunday.

Rain and strong winds in excess of 80mph will whip the western isles of Scotland by Friday.

Helen Roberts, Met Office meteorologist, told HuffPost UK: “We have a wind warning for the latter part of the week in association with a deep area of low pressure that’s heading in our direction – that’s for much of western Scotland and Northern Ireland.

“We’re going to see gales across good parts of the country, we could see 70 – 80mph gusts around coats and hills, and there’s even the chance of something a little bit in excess of 80mph.”

The north west will drop to 14C by Saturday, while in the south west temperatures will reach 16C.

London will see the warmest conditions, staying in the 20s until Saturday before temperatures drop to 18C on Sunday.

Nicola Maxey, forecaster at the Met Office, said: “Temperatures are picking up for the southern half of the UK.

“In the south and south east, temperatures will certainly be in the low 20s.

“Later in the week wind will push the warm weather out.”

Maxey added: “This will bring strong winds and rain, particularly for the northern part of the UK.”