UK weather: Britain will bask in 63F on first weekend after Covid rules were eased

Britons flocked to outdoor restaurants today as they enjoyed warmer weather ahead of the biggest night out in six months – with the prospect of a sunny Saturday and Sunday that will see temperatures hit 63F (17C).

People headed outdoors across the UK to enjoy a first Friday of the year in pub gardens and al fresco dining, with this week being the first since last November that all pubs not serving food have been able to open. 

An estimated 1.5million people will drink five million pints and 500,000 bottles of wine tonight across 20,000 pubs and 20,000 restaurants outdoors – with alcohol sales set to be double those on a normal Friday night. 

The weather will be dry for many parts of the UK this weekend with sunny spells and highs in England of 57F (14C) on Saturday and 61F (16C) on Sunday, with the mercury possibly even higher in parts of Scotland.

But there will still be overnight frosts – and temperatures will be nowhere near the highs seen during the mini-heatwave a fortnight ago which brought the hottest March day in 53 years with 76.1F (24.5C) in London.

It will be the first weekend of 2021 in England that people are able to enjoy outdoor hospitality and non-essential retail after the latest stage of the Government’s post-lockdown plan was implemented on Monday. 

The warmer weather comes after very low April temperatures in some parts of the UK last weekend, with 15F (-9.4C) recorded at Tulloch Bridge in Scotland and 7cm (2.7in) of snow falling at Lake Vyrnwy in Wales.  

Warmer weather encourages people to eat their lunch outside in Manchester’s Northern Quarter this afternoon

Families and visitors flock to the beach in the seaside resort of Lyme Regis in Dorset today on a day of warm and sunny spells

Families and visitors flock to the beach in the seaside resort of Lyme Regis in Dorset today on a day of warm and sunny spells

People gather to eat in Manchester this afternon as they enjoy the first Friday of outdoor hospitality being open this year

People gather to eat in Manchester this afternon as they enjoy the first Friday of outdoor hospitality being open this year

People flock to the beach at Lyme Regis in Dorset today, with the area busy with people enjoying the warm spring sunshine

People flock to the beach at Lyme Regis in Dorset today, with the area busy with people enjoying the warm spring sunshine

Friends (L-R) Phillipa Jackson, Kamila Musialik, Bethan Young, Mark Woodbine-Jones, Sylvia Dimova and Yulian Vasilev enjoy the sun at Portobello Beach near Edinburgh today

Friends (L-R) Phillipa Jackson, Kamila Musialik, Bethan Young, Mark Woodbine-Jones, Sylvia Dimova and Yulian Vasilev enjoy the sun at Portobello Beach near Edinburgh today

Crowds gather to eat in Manchester's Northern Quarter today as people make the most of being able to dine outside

Crowds gather to eat in Manchester’s Northern Quarter today as people make the most of being able to dine outside

A group of women make the most of the sunshine by relaxing outdoors at Old Eldon Square in Newcastle city centre today

A group of women make the most of the sunshine by relaxing outdoors at Old Eldon Square in Newcastle city centre today

Families and visitors flock to the seafront at the seaside resort of Lyme Regis in Dorset this afternoon

Families and visitors flock to the seafront at the seaside resort of Lyme Regis in Dorset this afternoon

People enjoy eating lunch outside in Manchester today on the first Friday of outdoor hospitality so far this year

People enjoy eating lunch outside in Manchester today on the first Friday of outdoor hospitality so far this year

Families go for a paddle at Lyme Regis in Dorset this afternoon as they make the most of the pleasant weather

Families go for a paddle at Lyme Regis in Dorset this afternoon as they make the most of the pleasant weather

A man appears to take a photograph on his phone as visitors flock to the seafront in the resort of Lyme Regis in Dorset today

A man appears to take a photograph on his phone as visitors flock to the seafront in the resort of Lyme Regis in Dorset today

People walk along the promenade at Lyme Regis in Dorset this afternoon on a day of warm and sunny spells

People walk along the promenade at Lyme Regis in Dorset this afternoon on a day of warm and sunny spells

The car park at Cairn Gorm mountain is packed today as hillwalkers take advantage of the lifting of restrictions in Scotland

The car park at Cairn Gorm mountain is packed today as hillwalkers take advantage of the lifting of restrictions in Scotland

Members of the public enjoy the sun at Portobello Beach near Edinburgh today as temperatures get warmer

Members of the public enjoy the sun at Portobello Beach near Edinburgh today as temperatures get warmer

Customers enjoy a drink at a pub in the shadow of Windsor Castle this afternoon, one day before Prince Philip's funeral

Customers enjoy a drink at a pub in the shadow of Windsor Castle this afternoon, one day before Prince Philip’s funeral

People make their way along the Long Walk at Windsor Castle today, one day before Prince Philip's funeral tomorrow

People make their way along the Long Walk at Windsor Castle today, one day before Prince Philip’s funeral tomorrow

People enjoy the sun at Piece Hall in Halifax, West Yorkshire, this afternoon on a pleasant day in the town

People enjoy the sun at Piece Hall in Halifax, West Yorkshire, this afternoon on a pleasant day in the town

Today will begin dry with early mist and fog soon lifting and clearing, with spells of sunshine following for most areas – although some cloud cover will develop during the day and it will turn breezier across the North West.

It will then be a mostly dry evening with bright spells but with some cloud cover. The North West could see thick cloud and spots of drizzle, but most areas will be dry overnight with lengthy clear spells and patches of mist.

Met Office meteorologist Aiden McGiven said that the weather will be dry for many places this weekend with sunshine but it will turn damp in the North West on Sunday.

There will be a widespread frost early on Saturday morning with 30F (-1C) to 27F (-3C) quite widely, and even lower in sheltered rural areas, but the day is looking dry and bright with sunny spells for most areas.

He said: ‘With light winds in any sunny spells it will feel warm, 13C (55F) to 14C (57F) across a good part of the country. 15C (59F) through central Scotland and we could even get a 16C (61F) or 17C (63F) in the far north of Scotland, but around coasts it will continue to feel cool, 9C (48F) to 11C (52F) on the North Sea coast.’

High pressure is then pulling away through Saturday night, drawing up slightly warmer air, but weather fronts will arrive into the North West and bring some outbreaks of rain, especially in Northern Ireland and northern Scotland. 

Paddle boarders takie in the glorious sunrise this morning off the coast of Tynemouth beach in North Tyneside

Paddle boarders takie in the glorious sunrise this morning off the coast of Tynemouth beach in North Tyneside

Runners make their way along Tynemouth Longsands in North Tyneside before sunrise this morning

Runners make their way along Tynemouth Longsands in North Tyneside before sunrise this morning

The sun rises this morning above the Thames Estuary near Gravesend in Kent following a frosty night

The sun rises this morning above the Thames Estuary near Gravesend in Kent following a frosty night

Runners make their way along Tynemouth Longsands in North Tyneside before sunrise this morning

Runners make their way along Tynemouth Longsands in North Tyneside before sunrise this morning

The sun rises above the Thames Estuary near Gravesend in Kent this morning

The sun rises above the Thames Estuary near Gravesend in Kent this morning

 

Mr McGivern continued: ‘A frost free start to the day on Sunday across Scotland and Northern Ireland. Elsewhere another widespread frost for much of England and Wales.

‘After a bright start we will see the cloud thicken from the West through the day, mainly medium and high levels of cloud, so the sunshine turning more hazy across Wales and northern England, but the further South East you are, the more likely it is to stay brighter with some sunny spells into the afternoon.

‘Temperatures up a few degrees compared to the last couple of days, 14C to 16C fairly widely across England and Wales away from the east coast, but for Scotland and Northern Ireland given the additional cloud and those outbreaks of rain, those temperatures will be held back a bit more.’

It will be another cloudy and wet day for Scotland and Northern Ireland on Monday, with sunny spells further south but cloud spreading south-eastwards.