No one expects balmy blue skies in January and February – and following weeks of rain and little sight of the sun we haven’t been disappointed.
But that could all be about to change today with temperatures set to peak at an unseasonal 18C.
Britain enjoyed an early taste of spring yesterday as the warmest day of the year was recorded – 16.4C in Epping Forest, Essex.
Happily, however, the highs are set to continue – at least for one day. As well as up to 18C in the South, it could hit 15C in the North today.
The mild temperature will be fed by winds coming in from the south-west over the coming days. But rain will return across northern and western areas tomorrow, with plenty of cloud around and highs of 14C in the South and 13C in the North.
The working week will then finish unsettled as an area of low pressure is expected to move across the UK and temperatures of 13C in the South and 11C in the North are forecast.
‘Mild or very mild temperatures are likely to persist, making for a noticeably warmer-than-average end to February,’ the Met Office said.
The warmer temperatures and sunshine have been a welcome change from months of storms and grey skies.
Temperatures today are expected to peak at an unseasonal 18C – a stark difference from weeks of rain and little sun
The UK has had a lack of sunshine over the winter months, with just 70 per cent of the average so far. It has also been unusually wet, with rainfall above the average of the past 30 years.
The respite from blistering weather could not come at a better time for many.
Storms Goretti, Ingrid, and Chandra hit the UK in January, leaving many coastal areas devastated and many communities still recovering.
Some areas have had it particularly bad. Cardinham, near Bodmin, in Cornwall, had rain every day this year up to last week, enjoying 50 consecutive days of nonstop rain.
The Met Office explained that the year’s unusually wet weather thus far was actually due to a ‘blocked pattern’ in the jet stream which was causing the particularly soggy spell.
‘For many of us, the past few weeks have felt relentlessly wet,’ it explained.
‘Repeated bands of rain have swept in from the Atlantic, leading to increasingly saturated ground, travel disruption, and a general sense that winter has been stuck on repeat.’
