Spring has sprung for Scotland... but rest of UK shivers
IT is said that March comes in like a lion, with wild weather a typical start to the month.
But as spring officially begins today, Scotland and the North of England can look forward to some crisp, clear days.
Forecasters said yesterday, though, that the lion will roar further south, with wet and windy conditions likely.
Nicky Maxey of the Met Office said: ‘An area of high pressure is building to the north of Scotland and as the week advances, it comes down across parts of the country, keeping the bad weather at bay, while an area of low pressure across the South brings wet and windy weather. There is a real North/South divide.’
The Met Office issued a yellow ‘be prepared’ warning for sleet and snow showers from last night until this morning in the North, falling more frequently across the Northern Isles, the Hebrides and the Highlands. There will be up to two inches of snow on higher ground, with ice proving a hazard inland.
But as this clears, it allows Scotland to enjoy the finest weather in the UK, with temperatures hitting a potential high of 10C (50F) towards the end of the week, higher than the average 7.2C (45F) for March.
March 1 is regarded as the first day of spring in the meteorological calendar, but in spite of a relatively calm start to the month, next week is expected to be more unsettled.
Conditions will be cold, as temperatures overnight fall to lows of -5C (23F) in exposed spots, making it as cold as Vladivostok, where it was also expected to fall to -5C overnight.
But the Met Office said ‘signals are weak’ and as a result, it is hard to offer detail in the long-range forecast, although March as it goes on is likely to remain unsettled, with spells of wet and windy weather, interspersed with brighter and showery conditions.
The 30-day forecast says: ‘Some snow is possible across the North of the UK.
‘There should, however, also be some drier and brighter spells, where we may see some local frost and fog at times overnight.
‘Temperatures are expected to be around normal for the time of year.
‘However, there remains the possibility of seeing some prolonged colder periods, with a chance of snow in places.’
A photograph from Dunollie Castle near Oban, Argyll, even offered a glimpse of summer yesterday, with pink rhododendrons in full bloom in the grounds.
Rhododendrons can typically be seen blooming from mid-March to summer. Jane Isaacson, sustainability and development manager at the castle, said she had never seen the flowers in bloom this early before there.