April set to be warmest on record

More than 100,000 people reported to have made the trip to south coast beaches amid high weekend temperatures The UK basked in its hottest weather of the year so far this weekend, with forecasters predicting that this April could be the warmest on record. The Met Office said Wisley, in Surrey, peaked at 27.8C on Saturday, although the temperatures are expected to cool during the week. Despite the expected retreat towards more normal April temperatures by the time of the royal wedding on Friday, a spokesman for MeteoGroup said it was “quite likely” the month would go down as the warmest April on record. Temperatures on Saturday were the highest since 20 July last year, Rebekah Sherwin, a forecaster at the Met Office, said. “It’s quite unusual for this time of year,” Sherwin said. “Obviously its not unusual to get some warm temperatures in April, but this is a good 10 degrees plus above average for what we’d normally expect around this time of year.” Sherwin said temperatures at the end of April would normally be at a maximum of around 15C in London. On Saturday, St James’s Park recorded temperatures of 27.1C, while on Sunday the temperature in the capital was around 25C. Wisley was the hottest location in the UK over the weekend – much higher than the usual average of 13.3C. More than 100,000 people were reported to have made the trip to south coast beaches over the weekend, with tourism bosses in Bournemouth reporting that 90,000 ice creams were sold. Beaches were also packed as families made the most of the sunshine in Swanage, Dorset, and in Blackpool, Lancashire. Visit England estimated that, over the next 10 days, some 10.3 million Britons are planning to take a break including at least one night’s stay away from home. Paul Knightley, a senior forecaster at Meteogroup, said: “It’s been a remarkable spell of warm weather for this early in the season. The previous warmest April came in 2007, and Knightley said: “It would have to get quite cool during the last few days of the month to pull the average temperature down enough [for it] to not be the warmest April on record.” On Sunday, temperatures were around 25C in London and in the low to mid-20s across much of southern England, Sherwin said, with cooler weather in Scotland and the north of England. In the capital, thousands took to Primrose Hill and Hyde Park to soak up the sun. Many workers are believed to have taken advantage of the so-called “magic three days” by booking Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday off work this week, ensuring a 10-day holiday. But temperatures are expected to drop from Monday, and Sherwin said: “We’re looking at a general downward trend in temperatures. “[Monday] will probably be down at around 21-22C in London – so still very warm really compared to normal temperatures – and it will be mainly sunny again in the south-east. “But beyond that I think we’re generally looking at down towards the high teens by the middle of the week.” Sherwin said an easterly wind would make it feel cooler and provide the prospect of some rain, particularly in the north of England and in Scotland. Neither Sherwin nor Knightley would be drawn on the prospect of April’s sunny weather continuing into the summer, although Knightley had a warning for those getting too used to the sun. “There are at least some indications in the past that warm dry Aprils have been followed by reasonably wet summers,” he said. “In 2007, the summer was awful. We had floods in Sheffield and Hull in June and then, of course, the massive southern England floods in July.” Weather Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 24, 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.