Skiers on last legs as warm spells melt away busiest run in years

ONLY 11 days ago, England sizzled on the hottest April day for nearly 70 years, while Scots endured distinctly soggy conditions.

But some brief respite for Scots is in sight as the month draws to a close, with forecasters predicting widespread sunshine and temperatures double those of London.

A yellow ‘be aware’ weather warning has been issued for the South-East of England for all of today, with wet and windy conditions considered so serious it may become a ‘named’ storm.

Met Office spokesman Nicky Maxey: ‘Scotland is going to be spared the worst of the wild weather expected in the South-East. On Monday, London will see something like 6C (42F) while cities such as Glasgow and Aberdeen may reach 12C (54F).’

As a result, many parts of Scotland will enjoy good spells of sunshine before conditions deteriorate tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, CairnGorm Mountain near Aviemore, Inverness-shire, has become the fourth of Scotland’s five winter resorts to close as the ski season melts away after one of its best in years. Only Glencoe Mountain remains open, and hopes to have enough snow to operate until May 7.

A spokesman said: ‘We have four inches of fresh snow giving lovely sliding on top runs. It’s a bit sticky on middle slopes, but will improve when skied in. Great skiing and snowboarding conditions for late April.’