Finally hotter temperatures and sunshine will exchange dreary skies with UK set for 18C highs this week
Britain is set for an early taste of spring during the final week of winter with warmer temperatures and sunshine replacing months of intense storms and dull skies.
The Met Office said highs will build through this week as parts of southern England reach 13C (55F) today, 14C (57F) tomorrow and even 18C (64F) by Wednesday.
Tomorrow and Wednesday will also be the sunniest days of the week, especially in the South, before temperatures slip back to 14C on Thursday and 13C on Friday.
The mild temperatures are being sustained by winds coming in from the South West over the coming days. Today will get to 13C in the South and 11C (52F) in the North.
This morning will bring frequent showers across northern areas, while the South will be drier with some early brightness although the West will have cloud and rain.
Tomorrow will begin grey with outbreaks of rain, most persistent across Scotland – before the cloud breaks up to bring highs of 14C in the South and 13C in the North.
Wednesday will be the best day this week with dry conditions and lengthy sunny spells allowing temperatures to reach 18C in the South and 15C (59F) in the North.
Rain will return across northern and western areas on Thursday with plenty of cloud around and highs of 14C in the South and 13C in the North.
A sunny day on the River Thames at in the Oxfordshire town of Henley-on-Thames last week
The working week will then finish unsettled as an area of low pressure is expected to move across the UK and temperatures of 13C in the South and 11C in the North.
It comes after the UK has experienced a ‘lack of sunshine’ over the winter months this year, having had just 70 per cent of its average sunshine so far.
It has also been a wet winter in the country, with rainfall above the average for the last 30 years, but for some it has been much wetter than others.
The meteorological winter, as used by forecasters, runs from the start of December to the end of February and the averages for rain and sun are calculated by using data from the past 30 years.
Met Office senior meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said that this winter does not look ‘remarkable’ until it is broken down regionally for the ‘big differences’ across the UK to be seen.
Forecasters said that eastern Scotland has experienced 114 per cent of its rainfall, while northern and north-western Scotland have had just 60 per cent.
Similarly, the Midlands is on 140 per cent of its expected rainfall while North West England is on 90 per cent.
Mr Dewhurst said this week will be ‘pretty much business as usual weather’ which may see the skewed averages reduce before the end of winter.
Explaining the regional split, Met Office presenter and meteorologist Alex Deakin said: ‘A southerly shift in the jet stream, driven by the freezing conditions across North America, pushed low-pressure systems further south than usual.
‘Combined with a blocking pattern that caused these systems to stall, this set up a semi-permanent south-easterly flow into the UK.
‘As a result, rain has been funnelled in from the surrounding seas into the south-west of England, eastern Scotland, and the east of Northern Ireland, while western parts of Scotland have been notably drier than normal.’
The Met Office also said that climate change provides ‘important context’ for the wetter weather, and that projections indicate a greater likelihood of intense storms like those seen this year.
A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, approximately 7 per cent more for every degree Celsius of warming. This means that when it does rain, downpours can be heavier and more intense, the forecaster explained.
The Environment Agency had 52 flood warnings and 121 flood alerts in place for England today following weeks of torrential rain since the start of this year.
