Easter set for sizzling weather

With high temperatures set to last until royal wedding, April looks certain to join string of recent weather record-breakers Easter week sunshine is continuing to push up temperatures across the UK, with April now almost certain to join a string of recent weather record-breakers, as the warmest on record. Forecasters say that averages are heading for well over 10% above the normal 14-15C (57-59F) for April, with the year’s high of 25.4C (77F) in central London on Tuesday leaving Rome and Athens in the shade. The fine, dry spell is expected to last well into the week after Easter and almost certainly promises shirtsleeve weather on the day of the royal wedding. Michael Dukes of MeteoGroup said: “It’s not a done deal that it will be fine because it’s still a way off and the run-up to the day looks a little bit more unsettled. “But it would be extremely unlucky if Prince William and Kate Middleton managed to get married on a day that wasn’t good. As things stand, it looks as though it will be a fine, bright day with warm, sunny spells.” The south-east of England is likely to have even warmer temperatures before Good Friday and only the risk of isolated showers and some thicker cloud in the north and west detracts from a generally benign and calm national picture over the bank holiday. Parks and beaches are already busy and supermarkets say that barbecue sales are brisk. The Meteorological Office described the weather as “really unseasonable”. Hay fever numbers are expected to rise as the fine, dry weather persists, with almost twice as many people reporting symptoms than was the case 20 years ago. The early warmth has also ended one of the UK’s spectacular spring sites – the multi-coloured fields of tulip bulbs grown commercially at Narborough in Norfolk. Some 20m flower heads have been cut off in their prime to allow energy to return to the bulbs at the Belmont nursery run by Janet and Peter Ward. The best blooms will not be wasted, but sent to decorate floats at the Spalding Flower Parade on 30 April in neighbouring Lincolnshire, which uses 300,000 tulip heads. Weather Easter Royal wedding Martin Wainwright guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 20, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.