Good tidings of an early spring are very welcome
With meteorological spring beginning tomorrow, our weather has been busy getting ready to deliver as promised. It has almost peaked too early. Wednesday’s high of 64F (18C) in Suffolk belonged in early June not late February. And it has been hotter still across those parts of continental Europe without the cooling influence of breezes in from the Atlantic.
Today will be a continuation in the pattern. If anything, it may be slightly better than yesterday, with the rain that interrupted the dawn-to-dusk sunshine in north-western parts of Scotland and northern England gone. There may be some mist and fog in the early morning, but once it has cleared expect a dry, sunny day, with temperatures of 54F (12C) in South Wales, East Anglia, and southern and south east England, 50F (10C) across central parts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 48F (9C) in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
That’s down a little on last week’s highs, but by way of compensation the 14million tonnes of Saharan dust swept up from Africa by warm winds and dropped across most of Europe will no longer be on our cars and windowsills. It may have brought eye-catching sunsets, but was yet another thing to deal with for those with asthma.
And that dominant high pressure that is making way for the arrival of something that looks and feels like spring will remain with us for much of the week. Tomorrow may see some light cloud and possibility of showers, but we will stay above seasonal averages. The freezing cold air of just a few weeks ago is a distant memory. It may be a bit early for March 20, the official start of astronomical spring, but I doubt anyone will complain.