Tropical blast will make Britain hotter than Ibiza today... before a wet weekend!

BRITAIN could be hotter than the Mediterranean today but sunseekers should make the most of it because the weekend could be stormy.

The South is in store for the warmest day of the year, with temperatures of up to 72F (22C).

That is 18 degrees Fahrenheit higher than average temperatures for the month and hotter than Ibiza, which is expected to reach only 66F (19C) today.

The South East will enjoy the best of the weather, although other spots around the country will also reach high double figures thanks to a blast of ‘tropical’ air from the Continent. Overnight temperatures will also be unseasonably warm, with the Met Office predicting lows ‘only falling just below the average daytime high for March’.

It will then cool down as a northerly flow develops, with thundery showers anticipated on Friday and Saturday, and warnings of freezing overnight temperatures in the North of England. The weekend will see a mixture of sunshine and showers, some fairly heavy, before it brightens once again on Sunday.

Met Office forecaster Emma Sharples said: ‘The next few days are looking much warmer than average for the time of year and the cold nights will become a thing of the past.

‘Thursday is likely to be the warmest day of the year so far with the chance of seeing a 21C ( 70F) or even 22C ( 72F) in the South-East.

‘It will feel quite warm and muggy in most parts of the country with temperatures in the mid to high teens as tropical maritime air arrives from the South.

‘However we have several weather fronts which will bring persistent and some heavy rain to south-west Scotland, north-western England and parts of Wales.’