Households in England and across the UK are being urged to close their windows for two days this weekend.

The Met Office is predicting a fresh period of hot weather - possibly the last one for a while - on Saturday, September 7, following several misersable days of rain and thunder.

Parts of England will soak up the sunshine on Saturday and Sunday with highs of 27C possible, before temperatures dip back down again to lows of 16C by Wednesday next week.

But it's a tale of north-south divide in the weather forecasts as the south of England, unusually, sees poor weather while the north of the country is expected to have sunshine.

The Met Office said: "Whilst the south of the UK experiences pulses of heavy rain over the next few days, the west and northwest of Scotland could see temperatures of 26°C or maybe even 27°C degrees.

"This warm weather will extend to parts of Northern Ireland, as well as parts of central and western England and Wales on Friday.

"There’s very much a north/south divide in the weather, with unsettled conditions in the south but drier, warmer conditions in the north. There’s a marked east/west split too, with cool and cloudier conditions to the east of the UK, whilst the west experiences warm and sunny weather."

It means that households in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland in the warmer areas expected to have very warm conditions are being told they should still take steps to keep their house cool in the sunshine.

And one way of doing so is to close windows and curtains or blinds in the sunniest conditions, and tactically open windows in shaded areas and open all your windows again in the evening, when outside air temperatures are lower.

According to the advice from heating professionals at BOXT, many commonly believed cooling techniques might not only be ineffective but could also hit your wallet hard.

Andy Kerr, the founder of BOXT, explains: "Getting rid of unwanted heat in your home can be difficult in the summer months, especially when most UK properties are built to retain heat. While grabbing a fan or opening up all your windows are often mentioned as effective ways to cool your home, these methods may not result in the desired results."

He added: "To help homeowners keep cool as the warmer months approach, we have revealed which common home cooling hacks are myths and why they don't work so you can avoid them this summer."

"When temperatures are particularly warm, opening up all your windows will let more hot air into your home, heating up your home and making you feel warmer."

"Instead of opening all your windows, it is much better to strategically open windows to create cross breezes throughout the day and open your windows during the night to let cooler air in."