Tuesday, 7th April saw a top temperature of 24.8C at Mona (Anglesey). Wednesday 8th is expected to produce higher temperatures for inland parts of SE and central England. 23 to 26C is likely with 27C, even 28C, possible for Greater London. This is exceptional warmth for early April. The UK hasn’t passed 26C since 1946, the year after World War II. This very warm air is surging up from Iberia and through France. For much of England and Wales, it will be another glorious spring day with sunshine and light winds.
Scotland and Northern Ireland will see a bit more cloud, with light winds, but higher temperatures in the eastern counties of Scotland, around 16 to 18C. The far northwest of Scotland will be windy with a fresh SW wind and a change to cooler conditions. A hint of things to come.
A low pressure off the west coast of Portugal is bringing stormy, unsettled weather into Spain but helping steer this flow of warm air northwards to the UK. The warm air will remain with us until cold fronts from the Atlantic begin to alter our airmass. Today’s cold front fizzles and slows, but shouldn’t be forgotten. Thursday’s cold front will make more of a difference as a northwesterly flow sets in behind it, and the old front will reinvigorate. (Don’t be in a hurry to drop fading fronts.) There will be rain along the fronts, showers following behind and with an air flow originating near to Greenland, temperatures will fall.
Aberdeenshire from 18C down to 8C by Friday. Yorkshire 22C down to 11C, South Wales 22C down to 12C and for London 26C down to 15C. A fall of 10 degrees for many areas. This has been an incredible week with Storm Dave on Saturday night, the Easter Sunday snow and then this surge of incredible early April warmth. By the end of the working week, frost is likely and snow for the Scottish mountains.
Wednesday
Overall, it will be a fine, dry day. The thicker cloud over Northern Ireland and Scotland could produce a little drizzle this morning but brighter breaks should appear by lunchtime away from the northwest. For much of England and Wales, it will be sunny and warm. The cloud cover linked to the fading cold front will edge across the Irish Sea, also from southern Scotland into northern England and north Wales. So not quite the wall-to-wall sunshine which warmed north Wales yesterday.
Tonight
The next frontal bands begin to arrive over northwest Scotland this evening with cloud and rain. There will eb showery outbreaks of rain for Northern Ireland tonight but the rain will set in for western Scotland, clearing from the Outer Hebrides. It will be a mild night.
Thursday will start off fine and sunny for parts of Egnland, particularly southeast Britain, where temperatures will again rise. 20 to 24C is possible with Kent and Essex having another glorious day.
It is a different picture further north and west. The frontal rain will edge over the UK, followed by clearer skies with a scattering of showers, sunny spells but noticeably colder air. The cold front will continue steadily marching southeastwards but will fade later on Thursday. The cold air will reach London after dark and showers will follow from the northwest, wintry over the Highlands.
There will be an early frost in the north, a colder first part of the night across the UK. However, high cloud from the next Atlantic system will arrive from the southwest through the night. Northern Ireland will be wet and windy from this incoming low by Friday afternoon.
April High
The month of April record occurred mid-month back in 1949. "29.4C 16th April^ Camden Square (London)." The Met Office does include a note. “A ^ symbol denotes some reservations about the record value quoted. When compiling these tables, an attempt has been made to verify all records by comparing values with neighbouring stations.”
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