It's fitting that the sunniest and one of the driest Springs on record is set to end with yet more dry, sunny and warm weather.
With a few days of spring to go (meteorological spring runs March, April, May) England and the UK have, provisionally, had their sunniest spring on record. England is heading towards one of its driest Mays since records began back in 1862. The full Met Office statistics will be out on Monday.
A few spots in Britain could meet the Heatwave criteria by the end of the month. Three consecutive days at or above a set heatwave threshold temperature which varies around the UK. The highest temperatures today are forecast for northern Scotland up to 28C, with very warm air and a southerly wind. And with this ongoing lack of rain, the fire risk is high.
On Thursday, Northern Ireland reached 25C, Devon 25.5C and Leuchars in Fife 25.7C. Western and northern parts of the UK experiencing the warmest air as it flows around a high pressure away to the east. A breeze off the North Sea kept the temperatures a bit lower for SE Britain and this flow, off the cool sea, will be more of a factor through the weekend.
It will be very warm, sunny and dry. Lockdown is easing and it’s the weekend. There are new guidelines, but the message is still to stay at home as much as possible and limit contact with other people. Also, do remember your sunscreen if you go out for a while, UV levels are high, even very high in the south. There is no point staying at home but getting burnt in your garden or when returning to the golf course.
The Visible image from earlier shows the clear skies over the UK with high pressure centred in the North Sea. There is cirrus out west from a front over the Atlantic, being kept at bay by the high which stays over southern Norway into early next week. There is low cloud in the Moray Firth and low cloud way out in the North Sea. Today is all about the sunshine as the lack of rain continues.
Northern Ireland will have a light south to SE wind Belfast at 20C, further north up to 23C. Cornwall also will have a noticeable SE breeze and coastal Kent, Essex and Suffolk an easterly just keeping the temperatures down. London around 22C.
Cool again tonight for inland England and Wales, staying very mild for NW Scotland. Then, another fine, sunny and dry day on Saturday. The cooler air flow off the North Sea will have shifted north by Saturday. Eastern Scotland, NE England won’t be as warm and Lincolnshire and coastal Norfolk still feeling the effects of the easterly breeze off the sea. However southern Britain will be in warmer air with London up to 25 or 26C and many parts staying in the low to mid 20sC. Again, northern Scotland could see high 20sC.
Overall, the fine, sunny weather continues with warmth. However, patches of low cloud will appear on Sunday. Temperatures will still widely be into the 20sC but with more of an east to SE wind then light winds overnight.
Next week starts dry, warm and sunny although NW Highlands could see a few showers by Tuesday and possibly less settled by midweek. That’s with a NE then northerly flow for the second half of the week with the risk of showers but for now, it’s warm sunshine and no rain.