An area of high pressure will be in charge of our weather this week, with it set to turn much warmer by Thursday – the spring equinox.
We could see temperatures reaching 18 or 19C in the warmest spots.
It will be warmer than Portugal where it’s forecast to be 12 – 16C with rain expected. And even Greece where gusty northerly winds will develop leading to temperatures of between 10-17C.
But this glimpse of warmer weather for the UK will be short-lived.
With a polar airmass covering much of Europe, easterly winds have pulled this across the UK bringing extensive cloud and a few patches of drizzle.
Temperatures have really struggled with afternoon maxima widely between 6C and 8C which is around 2C to 4C below the March average.
From Tuesday the high pressure area will slip into central Europe, changing our winds to a brisk south-easterly. These winds will continue to feed in that same cold polar airmass from Europe, but there will be one big change; it will be sunny for many areas so will feel better overall.
Wednesday and Thursday will see milder air push northwards with temperatures heading above average.
We’re likely to see the highest temperatures across southern England. At around 18 – 19C it’ll be significantly warmer than the 7-12C we’d expect this time of year.
The UK’s highest temperature of the year so far stands at 19.7C, recorded at Crosby (Merseyside) on 9 March which we could get quite close to.
This brief warm spell will still be miles away from the UK March record of 25.6C set in Mepal (Cambridgeshire) way back in 1968.
These big swings in temperature are to be expected in March and as ever change is just round the corner. Into the weekend we’ll see temperatures drop slightly as cloud and rain start to move in from the west. Overall though, it will still be on the mild side. You can stay across your local forecast on the BBC Weather website or on our app.
Reported by BBC