Brits bathed in the sunshine today as temperatures soared above 20C across the UK.
It was the hottest day of the year for England, Wales and Northern Ireland this Saturday, just days ahead of King Charles’ Coronation.
Earlier today, the Met Office tweeted that temperatures reached 20.2C in Worcestershire while County Tyrone and Powys enjoyed 20C and 19.2C respectively.
‘England, Wales and Northern Ireland have all seen their warmest day of the year so far today,’ the Met Office said.
‘By contrast, Scotland which currently holds the record for the warmest day of the year so far across the UK, only managed to see a high of 12.9C today.’
Despite moments of sunshine, Brits should brace themselves for a wet Sunday afternoon – though central and southeast England are expected to remain mainly dry.
Brits should expect to see warm and sunny days across the coronation weekend
Members of public enjoy the sunshine in Granary Square in central London
People enjoying the sunshine on Wimbledon Common, south west London as the warm weather returns and temperatures are forecast to rise to 21C over the bank holiday weekeend
They have been warned to brace themselves for some possible heavy showers
Even so, temperatures could reach the low 20s tomorrow with a few sunny spells here and there.
Looking ahead to next weekend, forecasters say King Charles’ Coronation is set to be glorious for many with some sunshine and a few showers.
Southern England is likely to be the warmest area as temperatures could reach at least 20C.
Prior to the big day however, the UK will likely be dominated by high pressure and humid air.
Senior operations meteorologist Marco Petagna said: ‘We are stuck between an area of high pressure to the north east of the UK and lower pressure to the west.
‘Warm air from the Atlantic has brought a lot of moisture too which will help trigger showers.
‘We are looking at potentially heavy and thundery showers on Saturday in Northern Ireland, north west England and Wales which will tend to ease going into the evening.
‘In those areas we could see some of the warmest sunshine away from the showers with temperatures in the mid to high teens.
Beach goers enjoy the warm afternoon sunshine today at Bournemouth in Dorset
Two people sitting on a bench while enjoying the sunshine on Wimbledon Common
A group of people sitting on the grass while enjoying the sunshine on Wimbledon Common
People are enjoying the sunny weather while sailing across the river in boats
Beach goers enjoy the warm afternoon sunshine today at Bournemouth in Dorset
Visitors to Cambridge enjoy potentially the warmest day of 2023 so far by taking to the river to enjoy punt rides
Forecasters say King Charles’ Coronation is set to be happy and glorious for many this weekend
People out punting on the River Cam in Cambridge on this morning after the sun finally came out
Early morning mist around Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire this morning at the start of the Bank Holiday weekend
Residential houses in Wimbledon bathed in hazy sunshine this morning
We could see the hottest day of the year as temperatures could soar to 21C
‘It’s certainly not a heat wave, but it’s a spell of some warmer weather.’
Temperatures for the coming weekend the first May bank holiday, are on the rise after a chilly week brought by northerly winds from the Arctic, with a maximum of 20C predicted in the southeast on Saturday and 18C far north.
Rain is possible on Saturday and Sunday, mostly in central and western areas of England and Wales, while Monday is due to be mostly dry.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Matthew Lehnert added: ‘On Saturday, the heaviest showers are likely to be focused across Northern Ireland, northeast Wales and central England.
‘On Sunday, showers are expected to affect a larger part of the UK, although central and southeast England are expected to remain mainly dry.
‘By Monday, drier conditions are expected to develop across the west, whilst showers become concentrated across eastern areas.’