- High temperatures and dry weather set to stay until Friday with mercury hitting 21C today and 23 tomorrow
- Forecasters predict temperatures will dip to 12C at weekend but with little chance of rain amid drought warnings
By
Phil Vinter
PUBLISHED:
07:13 EST, 27 March 2012
|
UPDATED:
11:48 EST, 27 March 2012
Good news for those who feared the weekend’s glorious weather would disappear as soon as it arrived – the beautiful sunshine is now expected to last until at least Friday.
The Met Office predicted highs of up to 21C across the country today and the mercury will hit 23 tomorrow – matching yesterday’s hottest day of the year so far.
But forecasters predict the the warm spell will end on Saturday – just in time for the school Easter holidays.
Although, despite temperatures dropping to 12, there is still little sign of any rain – prompting new drought warnings.Temperatures are likely to pick up mid-week, but only as high as 16C.
It comes after almost a week of unseasonably warm and sunny weather. Amazingly, rather than the south of England, it was the Scottish village of Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, which recorded the highest temperature of the year so far as the mercury hit 22.9.
Golden brown: Left, silhouetted palm trees on Mumbles seafront in
Swansea on Tuesday morning give the scene a beautiful sepia hue;
Meanwhile, right, Milly Jenkins, 19, and Jasmine Olivier, 18, take a
splash around in the waves as the hot weather warms St Austell beach in
Cornwall
Sunning on the dock of the bay: Dawn over the sill waters of the small fishing village of Mumbles near Swansea. Temperatures are set to remain high until the weekend across the UK
South of the border Otterbourne in
Hampshire was the warmest place on Monday, peaking at 21.4C, while
Porthmadog in Wales reached 21.1C. Meanwhile central London saw
temperatures of 19C.
The first working day of the week saw
Britain’s beaches and parks fill up with sun seekers as forecasters
said the heatwave was due to high pressure and breezes from north Africa
and the Mediterranean.
Clear blue skies with dry, sunny
weather is anticipated for most of the UK on Wednesday and Thursday.
Early mist and fog on Friday is expected to clear to make way for
another beautiful day. Only western parts of Scotland will see some less
enjoyable conditions in the shape of breezes and patchy drizzle.
But forecasters urged sun-worshippers to
make the most of it because by the weekend temperatures will be back to a
more seasonal average of 11-12C (51-53F).
They predict chilly starts followed by sunshine and highs of 21C in both the North and the South over the next few days.
Rebecca Sherwin, a Met Office forecaster, said: ‘The weather is reasonably unusual for this time of year.
‘We’ve
got high pressure sat over the UK at the moment, causing very settled
weather. It means the day warms up very quickly in the morning.’
The dry conditions meant fire
services across Scotland had to deal with a number of grass
fires and the Highlands Islands Fire Rescue department are warning people not to burn garden waste or rubbish.
But it wasn’t just people who lapped
up the hot weather. Daffodil the spring piglet enjoyed a snuffle around
the flowers at West Lodge Rural Centre in Desborough, Northants.
Basking in the warmth: New spring lambs watch a hot air balloon over County Durham during perfect weather conditions for flying in the crystal clear skies
Hot and high: The unusually warm weather made for pleasant flying conditions
Daffodil and her siblings, Pinky and
Perky, were born last Monday and have been a star attraction at the centre, which attracted 12,000 visitors this weekend.
Farm manager Ryan Thompson, 36, said: ‘When people see the pigs they fall in love with them and want to take them home.
‘But when I show them 60-stone Boris to remind them what the piglets will become, they change their minds.’
Drinking time: This hot bird dipped its head into a waterfall at
Carshalton Pond in south London to get some respite from the hot weather
Shower time: A sprinkler sprays water onto flowers at Waddon Pond in south London as Britain continue to enjoy warm weather with temperatures rising to over 20C (68 Fahrenheit)
Doggy paddle: Geese look on as a dog cools down in the waters of Waddon Pond in South London as the country continues to enjoy the unusually warm March weather
Day and night: Catriona Lodge, 24, left, from Edinburgh exercises on a glorious sunny day with hula hoops in daffodils on Bruntsfield Links Edinburgh; Due to the hot weather and clear skies stargazers in London were given a treat last night as the planet Venus was seen clearly above the crescent moon, right
Soaking it up: A man looks at the beautiful scene at Waddon Park as the sun continues to shine
Heathrow too is expecting a lively
period. It anticipates that the next seven days will be the busiest of
the year with more than 1.6 million passengers expected to pass through
its doors in the first week of the Easter school holidays alone (Friday
30 March to Friday 6 April).
Friday March 30 is predicted to be
the airport’s busiest day with over 220,000 people heading home or
jetting abroad for last minute skiing or guaranteed sunshine over the
Easter weekend.
A total of 3.4 million passengers
will pass through the five terminals during the two week school break
(30 March to 15 April) and additional staff are being rostered on to
help passengers, while dedicated family lanes and pre-flight play areas
will cater for the thousands of families flying this holiday.
There will be special appearances by
Peter Rabbit, chocolate Easter treats and activity books plus Kids Eat
Free deals in many of Heathrow’s restaurants.
While this weekend’s warm spell was good news for many, it will add to fears of droughts this summer.
Sand people: A young boy and his mother make the most of the warm weather by playing on the beach in Blyth, Northumberland. While this weekend’s warm spell was good news for many, it will add to fears of droughts this summer
A not-so-distant shore: Early morning surfers make the most of the the warm weather in Llangennith, Gower near Swansea
Making the most of it: Sun worshippers enjoy a day at the beach in Bournemouth
The dry weather has also caused some
major forest fires across the country with firefighters warning the
parched countryside is fast becoming a tinderbox waiting to explode into
flames.
In the latest incident, exhausted
crews said this morning the had won their fight to control flames
sweeping across the beautiful Ashdown Forest in Sussex.
More than fifty acres of woodland
ignited in the Kings Standing area near Brighton yesterday. It took
eight fire engines plus six Land Rovers from East Sussex Fire and Rescue
to tackle the blaze.
It broke out at around 1.45pm as hundreds of families descended on the forest to enjoy picnics and rambles.
Thick black smoke was seen rising from the woods where it’s feared countless birds’ nests have been destroyed.
With the spring breeding season in
full swing, eggs and chicks in the nests would have had no chance
against the advancing wall of flames.
The fire service is now warning people not
to light barbecues for picnics, throw away cigarette ends or even leave
bottles and glasses where they can magnify the sun’s rays.
The current hot weather has seen an
increasing number of woodland and heath fires – there was another huge
blaze near Poole in Dorset over the weekend.
Warning: Firefighters tackle a blaze in Barrackswood, Newport in what looks like a scene from a warzone after the heatwave caused hills to become tinder dry
Hampshire Police said two teenagers
were arrested after five acres of wildlife-rich heathland near
Fordingbridge went up in flames last week.
Meanwhile
thousands of fish are being removed from a stretch of water in
Cambridgeshire after water levels dropped significantly.
The
Environment Agency is rescuing fish from the 9km long Maxey Cut which
runs between Peterborough and Market Deeping in Lincolnshire.
The fish, which include chub, pike and sea trout, will then be released into the River Welland.
Low
rainfall and two dry winters in a row have caused ‘exceptionally low’
river flows, according to a spokesman for the Environment Agency.
David
Hawley, the agency’s northern area drought manager, said the area had
seen the lowest rainfall on record across Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire
and parts of Cambridgeshire over the last 16 months.
The rainfall for the period was 600mm to 200mm below average and Britain now faces the worst drought for 30 years.
‘The
Maxey Cut is already showing signs of environmental stress as a result
of the drought,’ he said.
‘Taking early action in a controlled manner is
better for the fish as they will be spawning in April and May. ‘
Then and now: These stunning Nasa images show that just seven weeks after Britain was covered in a white blanket of snow there are now clear blue skies and warm temperatures
Glorious day: Two girls enjoy a stroll in the beautiful sunshine in Bournemouth as temperatures soared well above the predicted 21C
But
it wasn’t all bad news.
The combination of soggy summer, mild winter
and recent warm weather will make this year’s display of spring
magnolias the most spectacular in living memory, say experts.
The trees are likely to be at their best over the next two or three weeks.
Colin
Crosbie of the Royal Horticultural Society gardens at Wisley, Surrey,
said: ‘We were lucky to have a wet warm summer which was great for bud
formation, followed by a mostly mild winter so the buds weren’t
damaged.’
And cherry blossom is blooming four weeks earlier in Britain this year thanks to the Spring heat wave.
The
unusually high temperatures of 21C have helped the beautiful pink and
white buds open more than a month early all over the country. The
spectacular blossom, which is usually associated with Easter, is already
brightening up fields, woodland edges, parks and gardens across the UK
after a week of sunshine.
Experts
believe the early blossom could even mean we are in for a bumper cherry
season as the fruit will have longer to mature and ripen.
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Britain looks so lovely in the sunshine…..it is a very beautiful country. We are heading into autumn in Melbourne (which is also lovely) but there is something about the British spring which always makes me homesick…..
- kathy evans, australia, 28/3/2012 00:27
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21-23° = heat wave !!!???
- Pierre Massias, Casablanca, Morocco, 28/3/2012 00:01
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The DM seems to spend a lot of time in Bournemouth !
- Miscellany, Cornwall, 27/3/2012 23:47
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- RS, Switzerland, 27/3/2012 22:54+++++++++Why not just stop reading British newspapers? Or is there so little going on in Switzerland that you have no choice?
- Peter, Ex-Royal Artillery., Ubique., 27/3/2012 23:45
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Palm trees, NZ cabbage trees, whatever, they look awful and provide nothing for our birds and insects. We have a temperate climate our native trees are beautiful and if anyone wants a reminder of sunnier places go and visit them and stop trying to change England into something it isn’t. After the last three bad winters I have been overjoyed to see these horrors have shrivelled up and died in a lot of gardens where people have been stupid enough to plant them.
- get out of the matrix, don’t watchTV it tells lies, google Holly Greig, EUSSR, 27/3/2012 21:59
Don’t be so rude, I and many have grown these with pleasure. Bet your garden is dull and un interesting.
- Sheila, Dartford UK, 27/3/2012 23:39
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Stop moaning and just enjoy
- Pat Herring, Haslington, UK, 27/3/2012 23:33
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Drop everything and enjoy it while it lasts!
- Jennifer, Northern Ireland, 27/3/2012 23:25
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Far too many British women looking like the first two girls and not enough like the last two. The (lack of) fashion/class in Britain is frightening.
- Andrew, Virginia, 27/3/2012 23:13
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Brits always seem to exaggerate weather conditions. If the temperature goes above 20c it’s a “heatwave”. If it drops below 0c it’s a “deep freeze”. Just deal with it and stop boring us with your drama.
- RS, Switzerland, 27/3/2012 22:54
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Here we go again, talking up the weather in the UK. I bit of sunshine and the Poms go berserk. The only reason why the tempreture is mild in the UK is that it has come up from the south, not because the UK is in right latitude to have normal tempretures of that level. Every place has some changes to the tempreture pattern, only last week the tempreture went down to 17c in Melbourne, but it soon went back to normal tempreture for this time of the year. Climate is generally dictated on what latitude the country is at. The further from the equator, the cold the place. So please don’t get carried away with this bit of sunshine.
- Dr Malcolm, Melbourne, 27/3/2012 22:10 – shut up Skip – you’re having our weather…rain…rain and more rain – luv a duck – hooroo skip.
- PaulW, London SW1, 27/3/2012 22:45
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