UK hits second highest temperature for month
THE UK has recorded its second warmest March day on record and the hottest temperature for the month in 53 years, the Met Office said.
The mercury peaked at 24.5C (76.1F) at Kew Gardens in west London yesterday, with St James’s Park in the centre of the capital also hitting highs of 24.3C (75.7F).
The figure is only slightly below the UK’s hottest ever March temperature of 25.6C (78F), recorded in 1968 at Mepal in Cambridgeshire.
However, Met Office forecaster
Alex Burkill said it was a ‘possibility’ that the record could be broken on Wednesday with temperatures expected to reach around 25C (77F).
He said: “It (the temperature) is exceptionally high for the time of year.
“It’s the second warmest March day on record. Temperatures could be a touch higher tomorrow than they were today. Whether it will beat the 25.6C, I’m not so sure. It’s on a knife edge.
“It’s not out of the question, but I’m not expecting it to.”
Temperatures increased by more than 20C in less than four hours in Santon Downham, west Suffolk, earlier in the day.
The village saw the mercury climb from a frosty minus 1.6C (29.1F) at 7am to 19C (66.2F) shortly before 11am.
Temperatures are forecast to hit 24C (75.2F) to 25C (77F) today, with the highest figures expected around London.
The Met Office earlier tweeted there would be ‘exceptional warmth’ and ‘massive’ temperature contrasts as the month comes to a close.
Mr Burkill said: “The warmth is going to be very widespread across the bulk of England and Wales.”