The UK may experience the hottest day of the year next week due to a storm that is threatening to bring half of Florida's annual precipitation in just a few days.

The Met Office predicts that Tropical Storm Debby will bring temperatures to Britain in the mid-30s.

The storm itself won't make it to Britain's coast, but the forecaster warned that it might cause temperatures to rise due to its effects on the jet stream, a fast-moving wind stream that circles the planet from east to west.

"Debby in North America will help to strengthen and veer the direction of the jet stream, and this means this ribbon of air is likely to shift further to the south," stated Nick Silkstone, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office.

“This southwards dip in the jet stream will likely be located across the mid-Atlantic this weekend and early next week, allowing south-westerly flow across the UK. During this time, a hot and perhaps very hot airmass could develop and be advected into the south-east of the UK.”

"Temperatures are likely to reach the low 30s in some places, notably in the South and South-East," stated chief meteorologist Dan Suri of the Met Office.

"Heavy rain or thunderstorm outbreaks are possible further north and west in this warm air." In addition to the high daytime temperatures, Sunday night and Monday night are predicted to be extremely warm.

At least five people were killed by the hurricane that soaked Florida on Monday, and it also posed a threat of catastrophic floods and heavy rainfall to the states in the southeast of the US.

Over the next few days, the storm is expected to continue hitting sections of the eastern and southeast US. It is predicted to bring up to 600mm (23in) of rain, which is about half of the annual normal.

Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, said some 250,000 residents were left without power after the category one hurricane made landfall on Monday.

Joe Biden, the US president, approved emergency declarations for Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, allowing for federal assistance in coordinating disaster relief efforts.

Mr DeSantis also activated his state’s national guard, with more than 3,000 service members mobilised to help with the storm response.

Storm Debby blew $1 million (£784,000) worth of cocaine onto the Florida Keys coast, US border patrol said. Twenty-five packages washed up on a beach and were reported to police by a “good Samaritan”, said Samuel Briggs, the acting chief patrol agent.

He did not give the location of the discovery but shared an image of the haul on X, which showed 25 bricks covered in a black rectangular sticker with a red triangular symbol on it.