Easter Sunday could be Britain’s hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures higher than Nice, Rome and Athens.
Sunny spells can be felt across the country tomorrow as temperatures soar to 16°C or 17°C in some areas, just like on Good Friday.
Plenty of sunshine will also be felt today, with the Met Office predicting ‘comfortably warm’ conditions will be felt in most parts of the UK.
Brits have been out enjoying the bank holiday weekend with trips to the beach. The weather in the UK will be hotter than many popular holiday destinations, including Crete, Santorini and Mykonos.
The day will also end well for most, with clearing skies ahead, while some eastern and far western regions will become cloudier.
But this is not expected to last long as the British brace for more gloomy weather on Easter Monday, with an entire month of rain expected in just two days.
Brits have been out enjoying the bank holiday weekend with trips to the beach (Bournemouth on Easter Saturday)
People enjoy a sweet treat to cool off on the beach in Bournemouth on a warm Saturday as temperatures rise over Easter weekend
A flood warning has also been issued today in Southampton, Hampshire, with the Environmental Agency asking people in Mansbridge and Woodmill on the River Itchen to exercise caution.
David Oliver, deputy chief forecaster for the Met Office, said: ‘Similar conditions are likely for much of the UK on Easter Saturday, but over the second half of the Easter weekend, the Atlantic will be increasingly influential.
“A frontal system is expected to move in from the west and displace the high pressure that is over the UK.
This will spread rain across all areas during the latter part of Easter Sunday and through Easter Monday, although there is some uncertainty about the exact timing.
Lots of sunshine will also be felt today, with the Met Office predicting ‘comfortably warm’ conditions will be felt in most parts of the UK (people on the beach in Bournemouth)
A man relaxes with a newspaper in his beach hut in Bournemouth in clear sunny weather over the bank holiday weekend
Over the bank holiday weekend, temperatures in the UK can be higher than in many popular holiday destinations in Europe
In the South and Midlands, the Met Office warned of ‘very high’ pollen levels, with temperatures reaching 18°C in South East England (Bournemouth beach on Saturday)
“Once the rain clears, stormy showers are likely to follow in many areas.”
While many areas are expected to enjoy sunny spells over Easter weekend, the Far East and Far West are likely to see some more cloud cover and even some light rain.
In the South and Midlands, the Met Office warned of ‘very high’ pollen levels, with temperatures reaching 18°C in south east England.
This would be warmer than Nice, Rome and Athens.
In the west, the Met Office is forecasting windy weather, with inland areas ‘rather warm’ as sunnier skies will see temperatures rise to 16C or 17C during the day, as they did on Good Friday.
Mostly dry weather with some sunshine is forecast for Sunday, with rain later in the west heralding the change to more uncertain conditions into next week.
Saturday’s sun rising in Hungerford, near Bath, ahead of the hottest day of the year
Plenty of sunshine will be felt today as the Met Office forecasts ‘comfortably warm’ conditions
Temperatures will rise to 16°C or 17°C in some areas, just like on Good Friday
But successive low-pressure weather systems are then likely to move across the country from the windy west, bringing a total of 70 mm (2.75 in) of rain to the western areas of England and Wales on Easter Monday and Tuesday.
The heavy rains will be accompanied by storms of at least 100 km/h on the south and west coasts.
Met Office spokesman Alex Burkill said: ‘We are still looking at possible temperatures of 17-18C (63-64F) on Easter Sunday, although it will become increasingly cloudy.
The heavy rain in the far west is unlikely to arrive before sunset and move eastward overnight, with the heaviest amounts falling in the early morning hours.
By 9am on Easter Monday, the rain is likely to be all over eastern England before it’s cleared out.
“It will be replaced by scattered, heavy showers for the rest of Monday.”
He said Tuesday could bring another 20-40mm of rain accompanied by storms. He added: “We are looking at wind gusts of 60 mph and probably stronger along the south and west coasts.”
Unsettled weather is likely to continue for the rest of the week, Burkill said, with the chance of further showers or longer downpours.
Britain will be warmer than Monaco on Easter Sunday, with highs of 18°C to be the hottest day of the year, the Met Office predicted (Photo: Busy Brighton beach on April 7)
However, heavy downpours will hit on Monday, with an entire month of rain expected to fall in just two days (Photo: People caught in heavy downpours in London on April 6)
Good Friday started the Easter holiday weekend well, because the British were lucky to enjoy nice and stable weather.
After occasional showers on Thursday afternoon, the weekend started with a lovely sun. Britons took full advantage of the blissful conditions and flocked to beaches and parks across the UK.
Temperatures on Friday hit a warm 15C to 16C in parts of the UK. The sunny skies were accompanied by a light breeze.
By 2pm, areas to the west and north west such as Plymouth, Southampton and Wales would see peaks of 14C, the forecaster predicted.
While in London and surrounding areas temperatures were expected to be a warm 16C – much higher than Friday morning, at 10C.
Birmingham and Manchester saw peaks of 12°C just after lunch yesterday, while Hull and Norwich had similar temperatures.
And to the north, Glasgow and Aberdeen were cooler, with peaks of 12C and 11C respectively.
Meanwhile, similar weather is expected for today, with maximums of 15C in the capital, and the same in Manchester.
