Sun worshippers have it licked as temperatures soar

Porthmadog in North Wales was hotter than Madrid, Rome, Athens, Barcelona and Monte Real in Portugal, with the mercury reaching 21.7C at 2pm.

In Aberystwyth, South Wales, the temperature rose to 21.2C, some 8C above the average for this time of year, and in London’s Kew Gardens the highest recorded was 19.6C. After a foggy start, thousands of people flocked to Brighton beach to soak up the rays.

Not all of the UK was as lucky as Wales. In Inverbervie, south of Aberdeen, it was a chilly 6.3C, while a cold, thick fog hung over Edinburgh for much of yesterday.

However, temperatures are forecast to improve later this week.

Bob Robinson, forecaster for the Met Office in Aberdeen, said the hot weather is down to chance rather than a growing trend. He said: “We’ve just been lucky really. We do seem to get warm springs, we had a warm spring last year. But we didn’t get temperatures as warm as this in March last year, and we had warm day in February this year too.

“Over the next couple of days we’re probably looking at temperatures of 16C to 20C in north east Scotland, which is unseasonably warm.

“The source of this is the mild south-westerly air coming from the continent. There’s not a lot of cloud and plenty of sunshine from the high pressure over the North Sea.

“That high pressure is going to be around, certainly into the middle of this week when a cold front will bring more seasonable weather.

“The record is 22C for Scotland in March. It’s not impossible that it’s going to break that, if it happens it will be in the next few days.”

Despite the cold spell on Saturday gardeners were taking advantage of the warmer than expected weather this month.

Elliot Johnston, general manager of Dobbies Garden World, in Livingston, said the season had begun early.

He said: “We’re flat out of primroses. They normally last until Easter but we’ve run out already because they’re in such good colour. The aubretia have already flowered, they’re looking lovely but they’re two weeks earlier than normal.

“The forsythia has been flowering again and it’s early for that too.

“It’s all good news for us. The summer bedding plants are coming on well with some good colour.

“If things flower early it encourages people to buy early and it really kicks off the season well for us.”