UK enjoys warmer temperatures but cold weather set to return

London: Sunny and balmy weather will continue on Sunday, after the warmest day of the year so far was recorded across the UK on Saturday.

Temperatures will once again climb quickly with the sunshine on Sunday, widely reaching 16C to 17C, and rising up to 18C or 19C in London and the Home Counties, the south-west Midlands, east Wales, Cumbria and north Lancashire.

Around coastal areas it will feel chillier, at 10C to 12C, with a bit of rain at times in northern Scotland.

Some spots in the UK this weekend are warmer than popular European holiday destinations, but BBC Weather forecasts that temperatures will drop next week, with cold air expected to come in from the north.

Saturday was the warmest day of the year for each nation in the UK.

Temperatures topped 19.1C in Bridgefoot, England. Scotland recorded a high of 18.3C in Threave, while Northern Ireland hit 17C in Castlederg.

Wales matched Thursday’s recording of 18.2C with Saturday’s temperature in Porthmadog.

Holiday hotspots such as Marbella in Spain or Italy’s Amalfi Coast – known for their sunny climates – recorded lower temperatures than in the warmest parts of the UK.

According to the Met Office, Marbella on Spain’s south coast had a high of 15C on Saturday, Ibiza had a high of 17C, and Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast reached 14C.

Temperatures this weekend are around five to eight degrees above average – more typical of May than March, when temperatures are normally around 8C to 11C across the UK.

The warmer-than-average weather is a result of a south-easterly wind bringing air from continental Europe.

But the nicer weather is not expected to last, nor has the UK turned a corner toward summer.

Spring can often bring big swings in temperature and can sometimes even bring ‘all four seasons in a day’.

From Monday, the weather will switch to a northerly wind bringing a return of colder arctic air. Initially temperatures will drop in Scotland, with highs of only 4C to 8C.

Then from Tuesday and the rest of the week, the colder air oozes south to all parts, bringing temperatures around two or three degrees below average.

There is also the possibility of a bit of snow over higher ground and wintry showers elsewhere.

Thursday was previously the warmest day of the year so far in England, Wales and Scotland with 19C recorded in Santon Downham in Suffolk and 18.2C in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion.

The Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh reached 16.8C which is the highest on record for it this early in the year.