Parts of UK set to see 20C as spring warmth arrives

Not a cloud in the sky as Wednesday morning dawned in Oxfordshire

After a chilly first half of this week, with widespread frosty nights, the weather is now warming up for the next few days as many of us are set to see a lot of blue sky and sunshine too.

Midweek temperatures will be on the rise, with more parts of the UK seeing the warmth by Thursday

Wednesday morning started off on a chilly note, with overnight lows of -8.3C (17F) at Braemar in Aberdeenshire. Temperatures quickly rose with the strong, spring sunshine and a change in wind direction bringing warmer air from the south.

Afternoon highs are expected to peak around 14C to 17C for the southern half of the UK and 9C to 13C further north.

By Thursday - the spring equinox - the warmer air will have spread further north, with most places expected to have temperatures in the mid-to-high teens, and 20C possible in the London area.

The UKs highest temperature of the year so far is 19.7C, recorded at Crosby in Merseyside on 9 March, so there is a chance Thursdays high will exceed this.

The spell of warmer weather this week will have temperatures roughly 4C to 7C above the March average. However, this isnt uncommon for the time of year.

March is typically a transition season - from winter to spring - during which we often see big swings depending on the direction of the wind.

Although not unusual, this type of warmer spell in spring is made more likely due to climate change.

Scientists from Climate Central, external think this weeks temperatures have been made at least one-to-three times more likely by climate change across a lot of the UK, and for some regions at least four-to-five times more likely.

The hottest-ever March temperature of 25.6C was recorded at Mepal, Cambridgeshire, in 1968.

The dry and warm spell will give way to cooler and more unsettled weather

While Thursday will see the peak of the warmth, many of us will hold on to above average temperatures both by day and by night for a few more days, but cooler air and more unsettled conditions will gradually move in through the weekend.

Check the longer range forecast in our latest monthly outlook.