FROM BEAST TO BEACH

BY KATHLEEN SPEIRS kathleen.speirs@reachplc.com SCOTLAND has enjoyed its warmest February day on record – and it could get hotter.

Temperatures in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, soared to 18.3C last week, making it the hottest February day in our history.

This time last year, Scots were preparing to face the Beast from the East when Arctic blasts, sub-zero temperatures and snow storms brought the country to a standstill.

Now, with Caribbean winds sweeping across the UK, the Met Office is predicting highs of 16C in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling and Dundee today.

There is an outside chance that temperatures could rise to 19C in the Highlands – closer to the average temperature of summer days in June or July.

So far this month, the daytime temperature in Scotland has averaged 8.2C.

A Met Office spokeswoman said: “We’ve been seeing some really warm temperatures lately.

“We’ve got warm air coming up and we’ve seen some temperature records broken today.

“The warmest February on record in Scotland was 1998 when the average daytime temperature was 8.7C and, in 2008, it was 7.7C.”

The mercury rose even higher in Trawsgoed, Wales, where the thermometer reached 20.3C – the first time the UK temperature has exceeded 20C in winter.

Bookies think the fair February weather is a set to continue.

Coral is giving an odds-on price of 1-2 for 2019 to be the hottest year on record in the UK.

The firm is offering odds of 4-6 for this month to be the warmest February ever and 6-4 for 25C to be recorded next week.

The change in weather hasn’t been great for everyone – with snow sports fans suffering a short winter.

Scotland’s ski resorts are relying on machines to create makeshift slopes.

A social media post from Glencoe Mountain Resort read: “Thanks to the Snowfactory, we still have a great sledging slope outside the Plateau cafe and an area of snow for ski and snowboard beginner lessons.”