Spring is increasingly in the air with forecasters promising parts of the south and east of England temperatures as high as 20C (68F) from Monday and for the rest of the Easter school holidays.
“For the rest of the school holidays it is looking pretty optimistic really,” said Met Office forecaster Craig Snell. “Lots of fine and dry weather around. All in all a nice week, but the warmest temperatures will be focused in the south.”
A swath of Britain from east Scotland down to the south-west of England will enjoy the warmest weather on Monday, with a band of sunshine helping lift the mercury to between 17C and 20C as youngsters flock to playgrounds to burn off Easter’s chocolate binge.
Even outside of those areas, people can expect to enjoy plenty of sunshine, the Met Office said, with the exception of the far north-west of Scotland, which will see rather more cloud, and coastal areas, which will generally be cooler.
The weather is far balmier than usual for this time of year, with the average UK temperature for April just 11.4C, according to the Met Office. Easter Sunday’s highest temperature was 20.7C in Arboyne, Aberdeenshire.
Conditions are expected to get fairer as the week wears on, with weather systems switching from Thursday to a “continental feed” that will bring warm air and clear skies in from France, clearing away clouds currently drifting in from the Atlantic. “By Thursday warm weather will be more widespread,” Snell said.
Rain will drift back across Northern Ireland and eastern parts of England and Scotland by the weekend, with a band of rain working its way across the country bringing cooler conditions. But they will soon relent, with finer weather hot on its heels as the country begins to emerge from winter.
“Many parts will start the weekend fine and dry but just a little bit cooler,” Snell added. “In London for example we could see 20C on Friday; on the Saturday we could see 17 to 19C but in the sunshine it will feel pleasant enough.”
Even in the warmest areas, commuters will face chillier conditions thanks to clear skies letting go of most of the heat, but the sun will quickly get to work and temperatures will quickly respond.
Clouds will return to the north of Scotland, bringing some outbreaks of rain. A north-south divide will continue for much of the rest of the month, with cloudier conditions and rain across Scotland and northern England as the south generally basks in sunshine with temperatures a little above normal, the Met Office said.
Many holidaymakers are expected to return from their long weekend breaks on Monday, with a round 16m cars estimated to have been on the roads over the bank holiday break. A large programme of engineering works was also scheduled to take place on the railways between Good Friday and Easter Monday.
