20C Easter SCORCHER will bake Britain - UK to bathe in four days of hot sun
A four-day warm spell is set to hit Britain over the Easter bank holiday
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A four-day warm spell is set to hit Britain over the Easter bank holiday with top temperatures of 20C following the wettest March for 40 years.
Temperatures are expected to hit 16C in western parts on Good Friday, with highs by Monday possibly nudging 20C.
Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services, said: “We are looking at a pleasantly warm four-day Easter Holiday.
“It’s not going to be a heatwave, but it is by no means going to be washout either.
Some areas of Britain could see temperatures rise to 20C
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“We could see temperatures of around 16C or 17C in the shade, but in the sunshine, we could be looking at closer to 19C in some spots.”
Western Britain will get the best of the weather while eastern regions catch the nip of chilly winds, he warned.
North-west Scotland, the West Country and the western coasts will be best for sunshine, he added.
“The west is definitely going to be best this weekend,” he said.
“Further east, it is going to be chillier in the winds, and not feel quite as good.
“But overall, we are looking at a pretty good Easter weekend, which will be warm at times with some sunshine.”
The sunshine will arrive as some Britons squelch through an unusually soggy start to spring.
England has had its wettest March in four decades, according to the Met Office, drenched by four inches over the month.
The deluge also left Wales and Northern Ireland nudging records for the wettest March on record.
Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre, said: “Although the month started cold and dry for many, moist, milder air soon pushed up from the south bringing frequent heavy periods of rain, this being longest-lasting in the southern half of the UK.”
Britain has seen the wettest March in 40 years
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The outlook for the week ahead is more promising, though, with government forecasters hinting at warmth returning ahead of Easter.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said: “The most likely scenario through the week is higher pressure to the north-east more dominant than low pressure to the southwest.
“As we head towards the Easter weekend, the driest weather will be across northern and eastern parts.
“If you do get some sunshine, then temperatures will be rising quite nicely, but the nights could be pretty chilly.”
Though a "scorcher" may over-egging it, bookies Ladbrokes has slashed the odds to 5-2 for the hottest Easter on record.
Spokesman Alex Apati said: “Things are set to take a turn for the better on the weather front, just in time for what could go down as a record-breaking hot Easter.”