Temperature in Edinburgh soars to nearly 29c on city's 'hottest day' of the year - but heavy rain possible overnight

The Met Office said it is "likely" that Edinburgh recorded its hottest day of the year today with the mercury soaring to nearly 29c – but heavy rain could arrive overnight.

Portobello Beach on Friday during the sunshine. Pic: SNS

A temperature of 28.7c was recorded at Gogarbank in the west of the city at 3:20pm on Friday.

Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said this was "likely to be" the hottest day of the year in Edinburgh this year but could not verify it as the previous record was unavailable.

The Met Office has recently issued a yellow “be aware” warning for rain affecting Edinburgh, much of central Scotland and the North East of the country. The weather warning is in plce until midnight.

Mr Dewhurst said today's maximum temperature in Edinburgh was just pipped by a reading of 28.8c in Kinloss, Moray, recorded at 12:45pm.

The hottest day of 2020 for Scotland was a temperature of 30.8c recorded in Prestwick on June 28.

Mr Dewhurst said temperatures will likely reach about 19c or 20c in Edinburgh on Saturday with largely dry conditions and some sunny spells. The risk of any rain is expected to be very low.