Britain ‘Hotter Than Portugal’ This Weekend As Temperatures Soar

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Let’s face it, Easter weekend was dismal weather-wise and I for one am surprised the Easter Bunny even bothered to hop out from his burrow.

Fortunately, the longest winter outside of Westeros could finally be coming to an end. Indeed, temperatures in Britain are expected to be hotter than Portugal this weekend, so get the beers in and the BBQ out now.

This is not a drill. The Beast of the East can officially do one as lovely spring sunshine creeps into the British isles. Spring has – ever so tentatively – sprung.

Today, the mercury is anticipated to reach 15C within southern areas, rising throughout the week as plumes of warm air breeze their way from central Europe towards the UK.

The Algarve usually experiences temperatures of around 16C at this time of the year. However, after a torrential, freezing few months – which have twice left me with chilblains – we Brits could well outdo the sun-drenched holiday location.

Temperatures in London look set to hit 17C this Saturday, putting Portugal to shame. Could it be time to drive to our many charming seaside towns and hit the ice cream shops? I for one am already on Tripadvisor…

Check out some more about the great British seaside below:

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People are understandably excited about giving their teeth a rest from chattering. However, do bear in mind it could still be a bit nippy as we gear up to the weekend.

According to the Evening Standard, Forecaster Greg Dewhurst said:

Tonight in the London area it will be dry with clear spells, with temperatures going down to about 7C. Temperatures will drop to 2C in Northern Ireland and -2C in Scotland.

Tomorrow for London it will be another day of sunshine and showers, some heavy, a little bit clearer with highs about 13C.

Dewhurst added:

Most of the rest of the UK will see sunshine and heavy showers, more continuous rain and snow in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

On Wednesday night temperatures will drop down to about freezing, with London at about 2C.

Thursday will see a lovely sunny start, it should stay dry with sunny spells. It will be cloudy in the west in the afternoon.

Overall not a bad day on Thursday, and Friday will be a similar picture, a little milder again, temperatures of about 14C Thursday and 16C Friday.

Met Office press officer Sarah L Kent told UNILAD:

On Friday, we are drawing air up from a relatively warm location so the air is coming across us from Spain, and across central parts of France.

And if you compare that to a couple of weeks back when we had really cold air coming in from Eastern Europe and Scandinavia so the air is coming from a different location.

The air very much takes on the characteristics of the place it’s come from and also the terrain it has travelled across to get to the UK.

Kent continued:

So what we can say on Friday, we know the air has come from the south; it’s come from Spain, it’s come across France, so Spain is warmer. And it has also come across land and land is quite dry.

So hence it’s bringing us this relatively warm and dry weather, just on Friday. Things do change a little bit on the weekend.

By the time you get into Saturday and Sunday, things do turn more unsettled so there are going to be some showers around on Saturday.

Some people will get away and get a dry day, but if you’re in the west for instance – so parts of Wales and South West and also actually Scotland – you will see some showers at times.

Kent added:

But we have still got the residue of that mild air with us, in the South East, that hasn’t been blown away yet as it were.

Even on the Saturday, temperatures are going to be above average and again for London on Saturday, we could again see 17 or 18 at the moment. So warmer in the South East.

Maximum temperatures are also said to be about to rise into the low 20s in some parts of France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.

What will you be doing to make the most of this rare glimpse of British sunshine? Let us know!

If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected].

Julia Banim

Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.