A wet and cool respite to the recent heatwave looks to be over – with temperatures soon expected to exceed 30C.

Wednesday began fine and dry, with long warm sunny spells throughout the morning and more prolonged sunshine in the afternoon – feeling warmer than the start of the week, as temperatures remained a high as 24C into the early evening.

The dry and bright conditions are set to continue on Thursday – with more unbroken sunshine but some cloud developing during the afternoon.

Temperatures could reach as high as 28C – and will stay persistently warm into the weekend, despite some isolated showers possible in the afternoons.

Jim Bacon, meteorologist and managing director of Norwich based Weatherquest, said temperatures could reach the low thirties next week – nearing the record highs set last month.

“We’re back into the warmer weather and should be somewhere near where we were before the recent downpours,” he added.

“We’ve not been remotely near average levels of rain, which are typically about half-an-inch every week, or 50mm each month, due to having long periods without anything.

“Some places saw a lot of rain from thundery downpours, which made amends for total rainfall at the end of July, but it all rained through and evaporated quickly.

“In terms of gardens and farms, it would have helped a bit, but not enough to compensate for the prolonged lack of rain.

“What they need is a persistent spell of steady rain.”

With talk of the record-breaking 1976 heatwave bound to resurface as temperatures creep back up, Mr Bacon said comparisons are wide of the mark, due to the long drought-like spell that summer followed.

“That year was notorious because it followed a dry ‘75 and ‘75/’76 winter. It was significant for a region like ours, which relies on groundwater resources,” he added.

July 23 was the hottest day of the year so far – with the Met Office reporting temperatures of 33.3C in Santon Downham, Suffolk.

The scorching hot weather sparked a level three heatwave warning – triggered when threshold temperatures, of 30C in the daytime and 15C at night, are reached for at least two consecutive days.