Record breaking spring-like February weather to continue

The spring-like weather continues with 18.3C in Aboyne (Aberdeenshire) yesterday a new Scottish record high for February. Trawling through my own local records near Nottingham I can find a 17.9C on the 23rd in 1990, so could this be broken today? It's certainly possible, with the fine, dry sometimes weather probably continuing until the end of the month.

This morning we have a large anticyclone centred just to the South East of Britain, that'll give most of England and Wales another spring-like day. It's a chilly start though with patchy fog mostly over central and southern parts locally dense in rural areas. This'll slowly lift and clear during the morning to leave most parts with a sunny day, but in the West, the sun may turn watery or hazy through the day.

Meanwhile, over Northern Ireland, a meandering Atlantic system will give patchy mostly light rain or drizzle. Across the West of Scotland, there'll be some heavier bursts of rain at first with more cloud in the East preventing temperatures from getting as high as yesterday. Towards Fife, Lothian and The Borders, however, it'll be finer where you'll see the best of the sunshine over Scotland today.

A southerly wind will be light or moderate across England and Wales but fresher and blustery over Scotland and Northern Ireland. It'll be very mild though everywhere with top temperatures 11 to 14C over Northern Ireland and the North and West of Scotland and 14 to 16C elsewhere locally 17C over more sheltered parts of eastern England and to the lee of the Welsh mountains.

Northern Ireland and the North and West of Scotland see patchy rain into the evening but this should largely peter-out, with skies perhaps breaking in places later in the night. Across the remainder of Britain, it remains much the same after dark, with clear spells. It'll continue mostly dry, with mist, patchy fog and low cloud reforming especially over eastern England where the cloud could be thick enough to give a little drizzle in places later in the night. Here a southerly breeze will be light, but with fresher winds further West. It'll turn a little chilly in some rural areas again, with 2 to 4C low enough for a touch of ground frost in the coldest spots briefly towards dawn. For most, though it'll be a relatively mild night, with minimum temperatures mostly in the range 6 to 9C.

High pressure continues to dominate into the weekend, with Saturday dry and fine again across most of England, Wales and the East and South of Scotland, in a light or moderate southerly breeze. There'll be mist, patches of fog and low cloud at first, but these will lift and clear from most parts to leave yet another fine day. There'll be warm sunny spells lifting temperatures to 13 to 16C, perhaps a little higher in favoured spots. In the far West, across Northern Ireland and the West of Scotland cloud will increase through the afternoon to maybe bring a few bursts of rain later. A South or South Westerly wind will be fresher in the West with perhaps strong gusts over exposed coasts and hills, but even here, this shouldn't prevent temperatures from reaching a very mild 11 to 13C.

While its exact position is uncertain at present, a slow-moving and weakening front seems likely to give cloud and patchy mostly light rain or drizzle across central parts after dark. Either side of the front it'll be dry with clear intervals in a primarily light South or South Westerly breeze. This'll allow mist, patchy fog and some low cloud to form again during the night but it should remain relatively mild, with lowest temperatures mostly between 4 and 8C.