The dawn of Spring
After our wintry Easter, get set for 2 WEEKS of fine weather
After a freezing winter and an Arctic start to spring, this could be the week to put away the big coat.
Sunshine and warmth are on the way thanks to high pressure that will keep rain at bay for the next two weeks.
And, from Wednesday, daytime temperatures should be above April’s average.
the promising forecast comes after weeks of winds from the North, which have delivered cold temperatures and snow to low levels.
this week still carries the widespread risk of morning frosts – but the Met Office says wintry showers in the North last night signal the end of any unsettled weather.
forecaster Simon Partridge said: ‘things are looking sunny, dry and settled for the next fortnight.
‘It’s not often you can say that about Scotland’s weather. It looks as though we are going to go from one extreme to another.
‘At the moment, high pressure is sitting out to the west of us. Northerly Arctic winds will drift east through the week, replaced by warmer westerly or southerly winds.
‘things will therefore begin to warm up over the next few days and by Wednesday we should see temperatures of between 10C and 12C (50-54f). that’s just slightly up on the average for April.’ the weekend saw snow showers even in the Central Belt.
Yesterday morning, tulloch Bridge in Inverness-shire was a bitter -8.3C, while snow blanketed the Borders. However, clear skies led to a beautiful sunrise at the shoreline in North Berwick, east Lothian.
People in many parts of the country said they had sunshine yesterday, as well as April showers of snow and hail. Social media users shared pictures and video of the confusing weather conditions, with people caught off guard by the quickly changing conditions.
Professor Geoff Barton, 60, head of computational biology at the University of Dundee, tweeted: ‘OK, so we’ve had sunshine, then snow... And now? Both together!’
With night frosts on the horizon right up until next weekend, gardeners will need to continue bringing in vulnerable plants.
But the upside of clear skies at this time of year is a rapid increase in temperature during the mornings. the sun is at the same height now as it will be at in late August or early September.
the BBC weather service indicates that benign conditions will stay across Scotland up to April 26.
Mr Partridge of the Met Office added: ‘We will see weather systems trying to move in from the North-West but all our forecasting models show them being directed away, up towards Iceland.
‘things are not looking too bad at all. At the moment, the high pressure keeping us dry and sunny looks as if it has no intention of going anywhere.
‘As a result, most of the models agree things are looking very promising for the next couple of weeks at least, which is nice.’
Beer gardens open in england today, though Scots will have to wait until April 26 for that al fresco pint, so it’s hoped the mild weather stays on after then.