While parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England may be cloudier with some patchy rain, there will be sunshine and mild temperatures across the UK in a ‘fine start to March’
The Met Office has confirmed the UK will enjoy temperatures of 16C this week – making Britain hotter than some parts of Spain.
While parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England may be cloudier with some patchy rain, there will be sunshine and mild temperatures across the UK in a “fine start to March”, the Met Office said. Saturday was the first day of meteorological spring, which covers the months of March, April and May. Last year’s meteorological spring was the warmest on record, when the average mean temperature for the UK was 9.37C.
The weather agency has forecast Wednesday is set to be the hottest day of the year so far with highs of 16C expected across northern and eastern areas, including Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire, between 1pm and 3pm. It will be widely 14C elsewhere, such as Herefordshire and Worcestershire in the Midlands and County Antrim in Northern Ireland.
This will be a rise of more than 20C to Wednesday’s lows of -5C, recorded in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, and a stark jump from -2.4C in Santon Downham, Suffolk. Advanced weather modelling maps show the warmest of the balmy spell – Saturday March 8 – and Madrid is forecast 14C that day. Those in the Spanish capital can also expect rain – whereas GFS weather maps don’t show any showers in the UK on the same day.
And in further good news, theMet Office anticipates a further period of fine weather too. Writing on its website about the forecast between March 3 and March 12, the service says: “High pressure is likely to have more influence across the south of the UK, at least at first. Here, there should be a good deal of fine/dry weather during early March with a chance of night frosts and morning fog patches.”
And Alex Deakin, meteorologist at the Met Office, said in one of the service’s YouTube forecasts: “High pressure is sitting in here, and that is going to bring in a lot of fine weather over the next few days… Generally, the jet has shifted north and this has allowed this chunky area of high pressure to sit in and that is going to bring a lot of fine weather, certainly through the course of this weekend and into next week.”
Met Office weather outlook
Tonight:
Rain arriving into northwest Scotland initially, turning lighter as it reaches Northern Ireland and northern England by dawn. Clear skies to the south with fog patches and a widespread frost.
Monday:
Cloudy for western Scotland, Northern Ireland and northwest England, with light rain over hills. Dry and fine elsewhere with sunny spells after freezing fog patches disperse. Windy for northern Scotland.
Outlook for Tuesday to Thursday:
Remaining largely dry across southern areas with sunny spells by day then frost and fog overnight. More cloud further north, with rain and strong winds at times. Turning milder.