Scots can expect to get the suncream out this weekend as parts of the country are set to soar to 18C, the same temperature we would normally expect in the last week of June.
Over the last week, many of us have been out enjoying the rare Scottish sun and yesterday, Scotland produced the highest temperature in the UK for the second day in succession, with 17.4C at Tyndrum in Perthshire.
And weatherman Tom Morgan promised our mini heatwave has at least one day left to go. The Met Office spokesman said: ”Scotland’s run of good weather has been pretty exceptional for the time of year.
“On Saturday, we are forecasting that somewhere in eastern Scotland, possibly in Dundee or Angus, the mercury will top 18C.
“Looking at our charts, you see that that is the same temperature Edinburgh could expect in the last week of June.
“That will feel very pleasant for anyone lucky enough to be living in that part of Scotland.”
The Met Office has also reviewed the 2021 UK high of 19C recorded at the capital’s Botanic Gardens on Thursday.
A manual check of less sophisticated Met Office reading stations discovered that 19.3C was recorded in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, the same day. This means that the town famous for its huge oil refinery is officially the hottest spot in the UK this year.
Clouds will creep into the west tomorrow and will keep temperatures down on the side of the country which enjoyed continued spells of sunshine yesterday. And all of Scotland is likely to face overcast conditions on Sunday, with unsettled weather moving in from the Atlantic next week.
Forecaster Alex Deakin said:”The weather has kept switching over the past few days. Thursday saw the sunniest skies in the east and on Friday, the sunniest skies were in the west.
“On Saturday, we switch back again, with the sunniest skies and highest temperatures likely to be in the east.
“Overnight Friday into Saturday will be dry where we keep the skies clearest over central areas, while temperatures will fall away to produce a frost in some sheltered areas.
“It will be in the east where we begin to see more in the way of sunshine, as the winds switch towards the west.”
Warm as things have been, we are unlikely to see a new record for the highest ever March day in Scotland, recorded at 23.6C at Aboyne in Aberdeenshire on March 27 2012.
However Scotland still managed to put Mediterranean hotspots in the shade again yesterday. The Greek capital of Athens only managed a high of 14C while the trendy Cote d’Azur resort of St Tropez could manage no more than 11C.
Spare a thought for the citizens of the Black Sea port of Istanbul in Turkey. Their weather yesterday? Light rain and a high of just 7C.
Three day forecast:
Saturday : Rain into the north, clearing to sun. Dry everywhere but best of sunshine in east.
Max 18C (64F) Min Minus 2C (28F)
Sunday : Cloudy, with some sunny spells, particularly in the east.
Max 13C (55F) Min Minus 1C (30F)
Monday : Dry for most but rain on western hills. Becoming windy, with gales by night.
Max 13C (55F) Min 3C (37F)
