Beer garden weather! Britain will bask in 63F sunshine on first weekend after Covid rules were relaxed following bitter start to April
- Weather will be dry for much of UK with highs in England of 57F (14C) on Saturday and 61F (16C) on Sunday
- Temperatures could be even higher in northern Scotland but there will still be overnight frosts in areas
- This will also be the first weekend of 2021 in England that people are able to enjoy outdoor hospitality
- Warmer weather comes after very low April temperatures down to 15F (-9.4C) in the UK last weekend
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Britons are looking forward to a sunny Saturday and Sunday with temperatures of up to 63F (17C) will people set to head outdoors across the country to enjoy a first weekend of the year in pub gardens and al fresco dining.
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 also 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.
Runners make their way along Tynemouth Longsands in North Tyneside before sunrise this morning
Paddle boarders takie in the glorious sunrise this morning off the coast of Tynemouth beach in North Tyneside
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.
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
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.