Winter warmer: Met Office forecasts two days of unseasonably ‘mild’ 54F before cooler air sweeps in from Wednesday with rain and fog to follow
- Met Office says conditions will be ‘feeling mild for the time of year’ today with 54F (12C) highs expected
- Mild weather also expected tomorrow but accompanied by rain and mercury will drop again from Thursday
- Nine flood alerts out across England including for River Severn in Shropshire and Ouse in North Yorkshire
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Britons are set to enjoy milder than normal weather this week as a warm front brings temperatures of 54F (12C) today and tomorrow – but many areas will also be hit by rain, and the mercury will drop again from Wednesday.
The Met Office said conditions would be ‘feeling mild for the time of year’ today, with the warmest spots being South West England and Belfast, while Cardiff will get to 52F (11C) and London and Edinburgh both at 50F (10C).
But today will also be dull and overcast for much of the UK with some drizzle gradually drifting east across England, Wales and Northern Ireland – while Scotland will see outbreaks of heavy rain especially in western areas.
These spells of rain will then push south-east across the UK tonight, turning dry with clear skies to the North and West, but scattered showers will drift into Scotland and the far North West will also have strong winds.
Tomorrow, the best of the temperatures will again be in the South West with 54F (12C) highs, while London and Cardiff will be at 50F (10C) but Edinburgh and Belfast will both be at 45F (7C) – around the January average.
A mute swan and a black swan at St James’s Park in London this afternoon as temperatures remain mild for the time of year
A ship passes through the English Channel near Dover in Kent this morning as clouds gather above
Sunrise over Cambridge from Castle Hill this morning with temperatures milder than usual for this time of year
Dog walkers on the beach at sunrise at Whitley Bay in North Tyneside this morning
Showery light rain will also slowly spread south-east across England and Wales tomorrow, clearing from Wales in the afternoon and turning brighter – and Scotland and Northern Ireland will see plenty of sunshine.
But temperatures will fall thereafter, struggling to get to 50F (10C) across the whole of mainland Britain on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday – with highs of 41F (5C) to 45F (7C) expected in London across those days.
Wednesday will be mainly dry and bright to the South, but Scotland will remain cloudy with spells of light rain or drizzle, mostly in the west – and Thursday will be similar, with variable cloud and bright spells for many.
The Met Office added that high pressure will remain in control on Thursday, keeping the weather settled in most areas, but there will also be patches of fog affecting many parts of the country – and again on Friday.
Meanwhile there are nine flood alerts in place across England today including for the River Severn in Shropshire, the Upper River Ouse in North Yorkshire and the Rivers Clyst and Culm and their tributaries in Devon.
In addition, today is the 40th anniversary of the lowest UK temperature on record of -27.2C (-17F) at Braemar in Aberdeenshire. That day, January 10, 1982, also set a new English record of -26.1C (-15F) in Newport, Shropshire.
The warmest temperature recorded in Britain over the weekend was 53.8F (12.1C) at Exeter Airport in Devon on Sasturday, while the coldest reading was -5.3C (22.5F) at Aboyne in Aberdeenshire yesterday.
It follows the UK’s warmest ever New Year’s Day nine days ago when St James’s Park in London registered 16.3C (61.3F), beating the previous record of 15.6C (60.1F) set in Bude, Cornwall, set more than a century ago in 1916.
And that came after the country’s mildest New Year’s Eve on record the day before when Merryfield in Somerset reached 15.8C (60.4F), beating the previous high of 14.8C (58.6F) set in 2011 at Colwyn Bay in North Wales.