UK temperatures could reach 20°C this week – here’s where
The UK could see the warmest day of the year as temperatures are predicted to climb to near 20°C later this week.
The hottest day of the year so far was 19.2°C in London earlier in March, according to the Met Office.
Temperatures are set to peak on Wednesday, potentially reaching 20C in the west of Wales.
It comes after strong winds caused travel disruption across much of the country over the weekend, with gusts of up to 70mph.
Ollie Claydon, spokesperson for the Met Office, said: ‘The peak temperature and mildest day of the week will be on Wednesday. It is likely to be the warmest day of the year so far, potentially reaching 20°C in places.
‘We can expect high teens broadly across the rest of England and Wales. This weather is not a surprise as we move into spring.’
The Met Office added that there will be lots of sunshine around Wales and England, but with spells of mist and fog.
‘The warm weather is due to an area of high pressure that is going to establish in the north of the UK,’ they added.
‘The early spring temperatures will drop overnight, this is known as a large diurnal range, and it means there will still be spots of frost in rural England and Wales.’
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In the UK, meteorological spring begins on March 1 and ends on May 31.
The sunny forecast is also driven by warm southerly winds and high pressure, as well as a phenomenon known as the Foehn effect, forecasters said.
The Foehn effect is caused by a passage of east to south-easterly winds which move over areas of higher ground.
It will be a welcome break from the recent cold snap in the UK, which saw the Met Office issue a yellow weather warning for snow and ice covering an area north of Stirling and around Fort William.
Colder air from the northern Atlantic swept across the UK, concentrating in the north-west of the country.
The changing spring weather comes after one of the wettest winters on record.
The UK has already seen two storms powerful enough for weather officials to name them, Storms Ingrid and Chandra.
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