Hottest day of year to put a spring in your step

AFTER the joint mildest March on record, prepare for the warmest day of the year so far.

Warm, sunny weather is set to continue over the next few days and could peak at 23C (73F) on Sunday in the South East.

But northern England, most of which will also enjoy sunshine over the weekend, is warned to expect blustery April showers on Monday and Tuesday. Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey said: ‘High pressure will continue to dominate as we go into the weekend and we could see the highest temperature of the year so far. A maximum of 23C is possible in some areas of London and the South East on Sunday.’

The current warmest temperature of 2017 so far has been 22.1C (71.8F), recorded in Gravesend, Kent, on March 30. But change is in store next week. Miss Maxey said: ‘As we go into the start of next week, the settled weather will continue in the South but it will be cooler and a weather system will affect the north on Monday and Tuesday. It’s going to be a bit windy, with gusts of up to 25mph as far south as Leeds, and there will be the possibility of showers.’

Temperatures in northern England are likely to be pegged back to around 11-12C (52-54F) – average for the time of year.

Early next week, southern England will be slightly cooler than at the weekend, with temperatures of around 15-16C (59-61F). Statistics released earlier this week show that East Anglia, South East and Central Southern England basked in their equal mildest March since records began in 1910.

And the UK as a whole enjoyed the fifth equal warmest March in more than a century. East Anglia had a mean temperature of 9.1C (48.3F), equal to 1938, while South East and Central Southern England recorded 9.2C (48.5F), equal to 1957. The average temperature for the whole UK last month was 7.3C (45.1F), equal to 1948 and cooler only than 1938, 1957, 1961, and 2012.