Warmest winter day...but storms are on the way
BRITONS ditched coats and scarves yesterday as the nation basked in the warmest day of winter.
Temperatures rocketed past the 64F (18C) mark in parts of the country that were last week shivering in sub-zero conditions and snow.
The mercury hit 65F at Kew Gardens, London, 64F at Heathrow Airport and Manston, Kent, 59F in Nottingham and 60F in Fife.
Today thermometers will again rise well above the 44F average for the time of year, before things turn stormy.
The first in a series of low pressure systems steered towards Britain by the jet stream will arrive tonight, forecasters say.
Another more powerful system will arrive tomorrow night, with 70mph gales forecast on Thursday.
Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey said temperatures will fall in the coming days, with swathes of the country back into single figures by the weekend.
She said: “Tuesday will be mild, but it will not be as warm as Monday – although temperatures will still be above average.
“Rain will start to move in later in the day and some of this could be heavy.
“It will also be quite gusty as winds pick up overnight into Wednesday.
“Gales could bring gust speeds of 69mph into Thursday, and as it turns colder there is a risk of snow.
“Although a name has not been issued for Thursday’s system, there is One week ago... snowplough clears a road at Fleet Moss, Yorkshire Dales the potential for this to happen. The next storm name would be Doris.”
The turbulent weather is being blamed on a powerful jet stream stretching over the Atlantic, dragging storms over the UK.
High pressure wedged close to us over the past week has kept unsettled weather systems at bay. This has now weakened, opening the floodgates for the jet stream.
The change in weather will come as a shock to the system after a relatively calm and settled autumn and winter.
Despite much speculation triggered by stormy weather at the start of the month, only three names have yet been issued by the Met Office since last November: Angus, Barbara and Conor.